UN retains Liberian diamonds ban

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The United Nations Security Council has voted to retain a ban on Liberian diamond exports, used in the past to finance the country's civil war.

A UN panel said that Liberia needed to do more to comply with international rules on confirming the origin of gems.

The measure is intended to ensure diamond sales are not used to finance conflict.

Liberian leader Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has urged an end to the ban so the money can be used for reconstruction.

In a letter in May to the council, the president argued that the revenue was needed to help rebuild the war-torn nation.

Trade in illegal diamonds has been blamed for fuelling wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone in recent years. The UN imposed the ban in May 2001.

'Soon as possible'

The council said it was encouraged by Liberia's progress on setting up a certificate system designed to identify the origin of diamonds and ascertain they were mined by legitimate operations.

But it urged the country to speed up its compliance with the regulations.

The council wanted "to lift the ban on diamonds as soon as possible so that revenues from the diamond sector can benefit the Liberian people", said Japan's UN envoy Kenzo Oshima, the council president for October.

The council will re-examine the issue in December.

It also confirmed the lifting of a ban on Liberia's timber exports, praising legislation establishing a government-controlled forestry sector.