December 28, 2000
New recommendations to prevent violations of the sanctions against the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) were published today in a report released at United Nations Headquarters in New York. (S/2000/1225)
The report of the Monitoring Mechanism on Angola Sanctions, which was set up by the Council in April, points out that "in order for the measures against UNITA to be taken seriously, the Security Council should consider applying sanctions against any Government found to be intentionally violating them." Among its recommendations, the report calls for the implementation of a "certificate of origin" scheme aimed at clarifying where diamonds come from. "This will both protect the legitimate industry and begin to clarify the problem of illicit diamonds," the report notes.
While concluding that UNITA's capacity to produce diamonds has been hampered by the military advances of government forces, the report emphasizes the need to continue to deprive the rebel group of its diamond income. "As UNITA's traditional allies and arms suppliers and conduits become more hesitant, as a result of publicity and the 'name and shame' campaign, we expect UNITA to seek new and unexpected friends and to explore more subtle and refined ways of evading the sanctions," the report states.
The report provides an array of information on the underground trade in arms and diamonds to Angola, naming those responsible and tracing their business dealings in other parts of Africa and around the world. It notes that stemming the problem in Angola will have wider implications for peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Sierra Leone.
"We have to take into account that there are many common elements in terms of arms, diamond dealers and air transport carriers involved in these conflicts," the authors write. "It would not be a surprise to see emerging the same names, companies and activities related to the organized crime profiting from death, destruction and greed. Those elements have no nationality or loyalty of any kind and can be found today in Angola and tomorrow somewhere else," they warn.
The Monitoring Mechanism was established by the Security Council on 18 April to collect information on violations of the sanctions against UNITA and recommend ways to improve their implementation. Its members were Ambassador Juan Larrain of Chile (Chairman), Ambassador Lena Sundh of Sweden, Ms. Christine Gordon of the United Kingdom, Mr. James Manzou of Zimbabwe and Mr. Ismaila Seck of Senegal.
