| UN Security Council Resolution 1760 | |
|---|---|
| Date | 20 June 2007 |
| Meeting no. | 5,699 |
| Code | S/RES/1760 (Document) |
| Subject | The situation in Liberia |
Voting summary | 15 voted for None voted against None abstained |
| Result | Adopted |
| Security Council composition | |
Permanent members | |
Non-permanent members | |
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1760 was unanimously adopted on 20 June 2007.
The United Nations Security Council today requested Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to renew a panel of financial experts and specialists in the timber and diamond trades to continue investigating violations of Council sanctions against Liberia, following reports that former Liberian President Charles Taylor, now in The Hague awaiting trial for war crimes, may still have access to considerable wealth.
Ban Ki-moon is a South Korean politician and diplomat who was the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 2007 to December 2016. Before becoming Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he graduated from university, accepting his first post in New Delhi, India.
Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south-southwest. It covers an area of 111,369 square kilometers (43,000 sq mi) and has a population of around 4,700,000 people. English is the official language and over 20 indigenous languages are spoken, representing the numerous ethnic groups who make up more than 95% of the population. The country's capital and largest city is Monrovia.
Acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, the Council unanimously adopted resolution 1760 (2007), asking the Secretary-General to establish, within one month, a three-member Panel of Experts to conduct a follow-up assessment mission to Liberia and neighbouring States, in order to, among other things, investigate and compile a report on the implementation and any violations of the measures outlined in resolution 1521 (2003).
That resolution calls for the creation of a similarly mandated Panel and imposes a travel ban on Mr. Taylor’s inner circle, as well as any other individuals “posing a threat to the stability and security in Liberia and the subregion”. Today’s Council action followed a closed-door meeting held last week to consider the report of the previous Expert Panel, whose mandate expires today. The Panel, which conducted assessments in West Africa and elsewhere between February and June, discovered that Mr. Taylor may have substantial hidden assets in Liberia and Nigeria, and that he retained ties to a large Liberian cell phone company.
Resolution 1760 (2007) sets out the specific objectives for the new Panel’s assessment mission, including a further investigation of implementation and violations of Council resolution 1532 (2004), which calls on all Member States to freeze financial assets and economic resources owned or controlled by Mr. Taylor, his wife Jewell Howard Taylor, his son Charles Taylor Junior, and other associates, in order to prevent them from “using misappropriated funds and property to interfere in the restoration of peace in Liberia and the subregion”.
The Panel is expected to assess the implementation of forestry legislation passed by the Liberian Congress and signed into law last October by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and to gauge the Government’s compliance with the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, a mechanism established to keep “blood diamonds” from reaching world markets. The experts are required to report back to the Council through its “1521 Committee”, which monitors the United Nations sanctions regime on Liberia, by 6 December 2007 and to provide informal updates as appropriate before that date. [1]
Blood diamonds is a term used for a diamond 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.
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 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 1395, adopted unanimously on 27 February 2002, after reaffirming Resolution 1343 (2001) which imposed sanctions on Liberia for support of rebels during the civil war in Sierra Leone, the Council re-established an expert panel to monitor compliance with the restrictions relating to embargoes on arms and unofficial rough diamonds from Sierra Leone.
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 1458, adopted unanimously on 28 January 2003, after reaffirming Resolution 1408 (2002) on the situation in Liberia, and recognising the importance of implementing Resolution 1343 (2001), the Council re-established an expert panel to monitor the implementation of sanctions against the Liberian government including an arms embargo, travel ban for officials, and prohibitions on the import of its rough diamonds.
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 1521, adopted unanimously on 22 December 2003, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Liberia and West Africa, the Council established a monitoring body to oversee international sanctions against Liberia. It was the final Security Council resolution adopted in 2003.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1549, adopted unanimously on 17 June 2004, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Liberia, particularly resolutions 1521 (2003) and 1532 (2004), the Council re-established an expert panel to oversee international sanctions against Liberia.
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 1961, adopted unanimously on December 17, 2010, after recalling previous resolutions on the situation in Liberia, the Council renewed an arms embargo against the country and travel sanctions for persons that threatened the peace process for a further twelve 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 1647, adopted unanimously on 20 December 2005, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situations in Liberia and West Africa, the Council extended sanctions including an arms embargo, bans on the sale of diamonds and timber and restrictions on travel for certain officials.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1683, adopted unanimously on June 13, 2006, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Liberia and West Africa, the Council adjusted the arms embargo against the country so that weapons and ammunition could be used for training purposes by the government, police and security forces.
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 1713, adopted unanimously on September 29, 2006, after recalling previous resolutions on the situation in Sudan, particularly resolutions 1556 (2004), 1591 (2005), 1651 (2005) and 1665 (2006), the Council extended the mandate of an expert panel monitoring sanctions against and violations of human rights in the Darfur region until September 29, 2007 and requested the Secretary-General to add another expert to the team.
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 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.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 2025 was unanimously adopted on 14 December 2011.
