Summary: January 25, 2001: Security Council Open meeting on the violation of sanctions in relation to Sierra Leone. Statement by Ambassador Pierre Schori Permanent Representative of Sweden on behalf of the European Union (New York)
Mr. President,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Central and Eastern European Countries associated with the European Union, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and the associated countries Cyprus, Malta, and Turkey as well as the EFTA country members of EEA Iceland align themselves with this statement.
The European Union welcomes the report of the UN Experts Panel on Sierra Leone. This is a comprehensive report by independent experts, which sheds light on the covert network of support to the RUF. We take particular note of the conclusion that systematic and deliberate violations of Security Council resolutions, especially by the leadership of Liberia, continue to fuel this long and bitter conflict which has brought misery to the people of Sierra Leone. Now is the time for the international
community to show clearly by its actions that such activities will no longer be tolerated.
Mr. President,
The links between conflict diamonds and the arms trade are at the core of the tragedy in Sierra Leone. RUF continues to rely on illegal trade in diamonds to finance its campaign of violence, and the population continues to suffer.
The European Union is particularly concerned about the role played by the Liberian leadership under President Charles Taylor in fuelling the violence in Sierra Leone. The report provides conclusive evidence that President Taylor is a key provider of arms and related material to RUF. Investigations also show that RUF activities are financed through diamonds mined in Sierra Leone and that the Liberian air register is being used for illicit trafficking in arms. The EU demands that Liberia, and all
other parties involved in the violations of sanctions, cease such activities immediately.
The Experts Panel recommends a number of robust and wide-ranging measures to address the problems they have identified. Some of these measures fall beyond the scope of the Security Council itself, and require implementation in other fora.
For instance, the report once again demonstrates the importance of action on the proliferation of small arms, both on the supply and the demand side. The EU welcomes and has expressed its readiness to support current efforts, such as the ECOWAS moratorium, to prevent the illicit trade in small arms in West Africa. The EU also supports efforts by individual countries, both in the region and elsewhere, to tighten their air traffic regulations and strengthen their customs controls.
The EU supports the Experts Panel's recommendations for early action to curb the flow of conflict diamonds from the region. We would support coordinated action in order to establish national certification schemes in the region as well as measures to strengthen control in countries identified as transit states for conflict diamonds. We also underline the importance of the Experts Panel's recommendations that a global certification scheme be developed as soon as possible. In this context, the EU
emphasises its strong support for last year´s General Assembly resolution on conflict diamonds (A/RES/55/56).
Mr. President,
The Experts Panel was mandated to look primarily at the situation in Sierra Leone. Over time it has become apparent that President Taylor's destabilising agenda is spreading also to Guinea, with dramatic effects on the security and humanitarian situation of refugees and IDPs in that country. We applaud ECOWAS efforts to try to deal with the situation in Guinea, and believe that the regional dimension of this crisis further underlines the need for action by the Security Council.
The European Union shares the Expert Panel's strong concern that sanctions on diamonds and weapons are being broken with impunity. We therefore believe that effective pressure to persuade President Taylor and his associates to comply with the sanctions, and put an end to their support for rebel movement in neighbouring countries, should be a key element in the Security Council's and the international community's response to the West African crisis. Such measures should be targeted on the
Liberian leadership while limiting the impact on the Liberian people.
We express our strong support for the intention of the Security Council to take action in order to put pressure on President Taylor and follow up on the recommendations of the Experts Panel. In this context, the EU also supports an extension of the Experts Panel´s mandate.
Thank you, Mr. President.
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