The UN Security Council unanimously passed a resolution on Wednesday renewing sanctions aimed at preventing Liberia from exporting "blood diamonds" or resuming the trade in arms.
 
In the resolution, council members agreed that although "sustained progress" has been made in Liberia since Ellen Johnson Sirleaf became president in January, the situation in the once war-torn West African country remained so fragile that it constituted a threat to regional peace.

Council members agreed to renew the sanctions for six months, with a review after four months, to give the Liberian Government sufficient time to establish a transparent and internationally verifiable regime for trade in the rough diamonds.

The council also called for the sanctions on the trade in arms to be extended for another 12 months, with a waiver for supplies of certain non-lethal military equipment intended solely for the Liberian police and security forces.

Both the arms and diamond sanctions have been in place since 2001. The diamond ban is aimed at stopping Liberia's trade in diamonds, which were used for many years to finance wars against governments across Africa.

The 15-nation council called on Secretary-General Kofi Annan to reappoint the Panel of Experts overseeing the ban.

The Panel of Experts' most recent report said the Liberian Government cannot yet demonstrate the internal controls necessary to meet the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, the internationally agreed system designed to prevent blood diamonds from entering the market.

In the resolution adopted Wednesday, the Security Council also extends for a year a travel ban on named individuals in Liberia and an asset freeze against former president Charles Taylor and his top aides.

(Xinhua News Agency December 21, 2006)