UN Security Council renews sanctions on Cote d'Ivoire, adjusts arms embargo

New York, US (PANA) - The UN Security Council on Thursday renewed, for another year, its set of sanctions imposed on Cote d’Ivoire, but adjusted the arms embargo in the light of the need for weapons and ammunition to train and equip the country’s security forces.

The resolution adopted unanimously noted that the measures on arms and related materials, first imposed in 2004, “shall no longer apply to the provision of training, advice and expertise related to security and military activities, as well as to the supplies of civilian vehicles to the Ivorian security forces".

The Council, however, said that, "the arms embargo shall not apply to supplies of or use by the peacekeeping mission there, the UN Operation in Cote d’Ivoire (UNOCI), and the French forces who support them, or to non-lethal military equipment intended solely for humanitarian or protective use, among other purposes".

It said that the sanctions, extended to 30 April, 2013, also include the ban on the export of rough diamonds, the so-called “blood diamonds,” that have fuelled conflict in the region.

It also targeted measures on a number of individuals, including former president Laurent Gbagbo.

The Council also extended the mandate of the Group of Experts it set up to monitor the arms embargo, and reiterated the need for the Ivorian authorities to provide unhindered access to the group so it can carry out its work.

The Council first imposed the embargo in 2004 after a civil war in 2002 split the country into a rebel-held north and a Government-controlled south.

Last year, it imposed targeted financial and travel measures against Gbagbo and his associates after his refusal to leave office following his election defeat to current President Alassane Ouattara.
-0- PANA AA/VAO 26April2012