(Rapaport…December 24, 2004) Global Witness, a non governmental organization, said in a press release issued on December 23, that while it welcomed the decision of the UN Security Council to renew existing sanctions on Liberia’s diamond exports, imposing a six-month limit on the sanctions would leave little time to ensure that diamond areas were brought under full government authority.
Global Witness says this would also give little time to ensure that Liberia receives the technical and financial assistance it needs to implement a strong system of controls.
An ad hoc team from the Kimberley Process will visit Liberia at the start of 2005 to conduct an informal review. A second team must make a full assessment visit to ensure that the systems are working effectively before a competent decision can be made by the Security Council to remove sanctions, Global Witness added.