The UN Security Council on Monday unanimously extended for six months the existing sanctions against Liberia's diamond exports, which it said have been increasing, and re-established a panel to investigate if and how funds are being raised to buy weapons to foment new violence.

Describing the context in which it was making its decision on diamonds, the council noted its concern over "the increase in unlicensed mining and illegal exports of diamonds and the national transitional government of Liberia's agreement to, and lack of transparency in, granting exclusive mining rights to a single company."

On this basis, therefore, the council said, it would renew the measures on diamond exports imposed by its embargo of 2003 for a further period of six months from the date of adoption of this resolution.

The council urged the Liberian government to intensify its efforts, with the support of the peacekeeping UN Mission in Liberia, "to establish its authority over the diamond-producing areas, and to work towards establishing an official Certificate of Origin regime for trade in rough diamonds that is transparent and internationally verifiable, with a view to joining the Kimberley Process."

Kimberley verifies that the exports are not "blood diamonds" being sold to buy arms for militias.

Source: Xinhua