UN on Sierra Leone embargo

The United Nations Security Council has reminded all countries of their legal duty to prohibit the import of rough diamonds from Sierra Leone.

In a statement, the council noted that a panel of experts had reported widespread violations of the international embargo on such imports, imposed in July with the aim of cutting off a source of revenue for rebels in the country.

The panel, which reported its findings last month, recommended extending the embargo to Liberia, whose president, Charles Taylor, has close ties to the rebel movement in Sierra Leone, the Revolutionary United Front. The Council is now studying a draft resolution to prohibit all imports of diamonds from Liberia until the United Nations certifies that President Taylor's governnent is no longer involved in the illicit trade of diamonds and arms in the region.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service