| UN Security Council Resolution 1753 | |
|---|---|
| Date | 27 April 2007 |
| Meeting no. | 5,668 |
| Code | S/RES/1753 (Document) |
| Subject | The situation in Liberia |
Voting summary |
|
| Result | Adopted |
| Security Council composition | |
Permanent members | |
Non-permanent members | |
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1753 was unanimously adopted on 27 April 2007.
The Security Council today lifted a more than three-year-old ban on diamond imports from Liberia, applauding the Government’s cooperation with the “Kimberley Process”, a mechanism set up to keep so-called “blood diamonds” from reaching world markets.
Unanimously adopting resolution 1753 (2007) and acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, the Council terminated the measures on diamonds imposed in resolution 1521 (2003), by which all States should prevent the direct or indirect import of all rough diamonds from Liberia to their territory, whether or not such diamonds originated in that country (see Press Release SC/7965 of 22 December 2003).
According to today’s text, the termination would be reviewed in 90 days, after consideration of the report of the United Nations Panel of Experts on the matter and a report of the “Kimberley Process” on Liberia’s application of its proposed Certificate of Origin regime.
The United Nations-backed Kimberley Process Certification Scheme of 2000 was designed to protect the legitimate diamond industry by stopping the marketing of “conflict diamonds” or “blood diamonds”—the rough gems traded by rebels or their allies to finance violence. The initiative now governs diamond production and importation in 70 countries.
Trafficking in illegal diamonds is considered one of the root causes of the back-to-back civil wars in Liberia since 1989, as well as of the 10-year brutal conflict in neighbouring Sierra Leone that ended in 2001. Blood diamonds has also been blamed for financing wars in other African countries, including Angola, Côte d’Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [1]
Blood diamonds are diamonds mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency, an invading army's war efforts, or a warlord's activity. The term is used to highlight the negative consequences of the diamond trade in certain areas, or to label an individual diamond as having come from such an area. Diamonds mined during the recent civil wars in Angola, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, and Guinea Bissau have been given the label. The term conflict resource refers to analogous situations involving other natural resources.
The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) is the process established in 2003 to prevent "conflict diamonds" from entering the mainstream rough diamond market by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 55/56 following recommendations in the Fowler Report. The process was set up "to ensure that diamond purchases were not financing violence by rebel movements and their allies seeking to undermine legitimate governments."
The Clean Diamond Trade Act (CDTA), signed by United States President George W. Bush on 25 April 2003, implemented the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) to regulate the commercial sale of diamonds. On July 29, 2003, Bush signed Executive Order 13312, which described the implementation of the Clean Diamond Trade act. The act requires that all diamonds imported to the United States or exported from the United States have a Kimberley Process Certificate. The act aims to prohibit the importation of diamonds whose mining fuels conflict in the country of origin.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1903, adopted unanimously on December 17, 2009, renewed a travel ban on persons deemed to be a threat to the peace in Liberia for 12 months, demanding the Government of Liberia to continue enforcing an asset freeze imposed upon those sanctioned individuals. The Council also readjusted the arms embargo on the country by allowing the Liberian government and UN peacekeepers in the country to receive certain military materiel for 12 months.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1306, adopted on 5 July 2000, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Sierra Leone, particularly resolutions 1132 (1997), 1171 (1998) and 1299 (2000), the Council decided to prohibit the direct or indirect import of rough diamonds from the country. The rebel Revolutionary United Front controlled 90% of the diamond-producing areas in Sierra Leone and was using diamonds to finance its operations.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1343, adopted unanimously on 7 March 2001, after recalling resolutions on Sierra Leone and the region, including resolutions 1132 (1997), 1171 (1998) and 1306 (2000), the Council demanded that Liberia end its support for rebels in Sierra Leone and threatened the imposition of wide-ranging sanctions unless the country complied with the Security Council.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1385, adopted unanimously on 19 December 2001, after recalling all resolutions on the situation in Sierra Leone, particularly resolutions 1132 (1997), 1171 (1998), 1299 (2000) and 1306 (2000), the Council extended sanctions against the import of rough diamonds except those controlled by the government from the country for a further 11 months, beginning on 5 January 2002.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1408, adopted unanimously on 6 May 2002, after recalling resolutions 1132 (1997), 1171 (1998), 1306 (2000), 1343 (2001), 1385 (2001), 1395 (2002) and 1400 (2002) on the situation in Sierra Leone, the Council extended sanctions against Liberia for its support of rebels in the civil war in Sierra Leone.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1446, adopted unanimously on 4 December 2002, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Sierra Leone, particularly resolutions 1132 (1997), 1171 (1998), 1299 (2000), 1306 (2000) and 1385 (2001), the Council extended prohibitions relating to the import of rough diamonds not under the control of the Sierra Leonean government until 5 June 2003.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1459, adopted unanimously on 28 January 2003, after recalling resolutions 1173 (1998), 1295 (2000), 1306 (2000), 1343 (2001), 1385 (2001) and 1408 (2002) concerning the illicit trade in diamonds, the Council expressed support for the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS).
United Nations Security Council resolution 1478, adopted unanimously on 6 May 2003, after recalling resolutions 1132 (1997), 1171 (1998), 1306 (2000), 1343 (2001), 1385 (2001), 1395 (2002), 1400 (2002), 1408 (2002), 1458 (2003), 1467 (2003) and others on the situation in Liberia, the Council extended sanctions against the Liberian government for an additional period of twelve months until 7 May 2004 and imposed a ban on imports of its timber for ten months.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1579, adopted unanimously on 21 December 2004, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Liberia, the Council extended arms, timber and travel sanctions against the country for twelve months and a diamond ban for six months.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1607, adopted unanimously on 21 June 2005, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Liberia, the Council extended the embargo on Liberian diamonds for a further six months.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1643, adopted unanimously on 15 December 2005, after recalling previous resolutions on the situation in Côte d'Ivoire, the Council extended an arms embargo and travel and financial restrictions against the country until 15 December 2006, and included a ban on the trade of diamonds.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1689, adopted unanimously on June 20, 2006, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Liberia and West Africa, the Council decided to continue sanctions against the import of diamonds from the country for six months, though similar restrictions relating to timber imports were lifted.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1731, adopted unanimously on December 20, 2006, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situations in Liberia and West Africa, the Council extended arms and travel embargoes on the country for one year and a ban on the sale of diamonds for a period of six months.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1760 was unanimously adopted on 20 June 2007.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1792 was unanimously adopted on 19 December 2007.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1819 was unanimously adopted on 18 June 2008.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1854 was unanimously adopted on 19 December 2008.
