UN slaps sanctions on Eritrea
23 December, 2009 | By Gerard Aziakou
Thirteen of the council's 15 members voted in favor of Resolution 1907
but veto-wielding China abstained while Libya, the lone Arab member of
the council and the current chair of the African Union, voted against.
The Ugandan-drafted text bans weapons sales to and from Eritrea, while
also imposing travel restrictions and asset freezes on the country's
political and military leadership.
The measure demands that Asmara "cease all efforts to destabilize or
overthrow, directly or indirectly" the Transitional Federal Government
(TFG) in Somalia.
It urges member states to conduct inspections on their territory, including
seaports and airports, of "all cargo to and from Somalia and Eritrea" if
there is reasonable grounds to believe the shipments contain banned
weapons or related material.
The text also presses Eritrea to withdraw troops immediately from
disputed territories along its frontier with Djibouti and engage in
diplomatic efforts leading to "a mutually acceptable" settlement of their
long-running border dispute.
It further calls on all member states, in particular Eritrea, to stop "arming,
training and equipping armed groups that aim to destabilize the region or
incite violence and civil strife in Djibouti," including Somalia's hardline
Islamic militants.
Libya's deputy UN ambassador, Ibrahim Dabbashi, said "sanctions are not
the ideal way of resolving problems" and would likely exacerbate the
humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa.
The Chinese ambassador to the United Nations, Zhang Yesui, argued the
"council should act prudently in adopting sanctions."
He stressed that sanctions should not replace diplomatic efforts to resolve
the issue through negotiations.
In a letter sent to the Security Council ahead of the vote, Eritrea's UN
ambassador, Araya Desta, urged all members "to use their influence to
ensure the rejection of this draft resolution in its entirety."
He accused Washington of being "the main architect" of a resolution that
"has no factual or legal justifications."
"The UN Security Council cannot penalize Eritrea for its views simply
because (Asmara) does not toe or conform to Washington's policy
choices and preferences," Desta charged.
Both the African Union and the east African Intergovernmental Authority
on Development (IGAD) bloc, which groups Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya,
Somalia, Sudan and Uganda, have been calling since July for UN
sanctions to punish Eritrea for backing Somali rebels.
The United States has blamed Eritrea for fanning the violence in Somalia,
a country that has not known peace for nearly two decades. A UN
monitoring group has detailed how Asmara supplies arms and cash to
Somali opposition forces.
Somalia's wobbly transitional government controls virtually no territory
and has been unable to govern the country due to constant and fierce
fighting with hardline Islamist militias.
On Eritrea's border dispute with Djibouti, the resolution reiterated the
Security Council's call in Resolution 1862 adopted in January that Asmara
pull out its forces and all their equipment from disputed territories and
ensure that no military presence or activity take place in the area.
That resolution had given Eritrea five weeks to pull out.
The dispute over the Ras Doumeira promontory on the shores of the Red
Sea last flared up in June 2008 after previous clashes in 1996 and 1999.
It has assumed a greater strategic significance because both France and
the United States have bases in the former French colony. The United
States stations over 1,200 troops in Djibouti, which hosts an anti-
terrorism task force in the Horn of Africa.
Resolution 1907 also directed UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to
report within 180 days on Asmara's compliance with its provisions.
Courtesy
23 December, 2009 | By Gerard Aziakou
- UNITED NATIONS — The
UN Security Council slapped an
arms embargo on Eritrea
Wednesday and targeted
sanctions on its leaders for
aiding Somali rebels and
refusing to withdraw troops
from its disputed border with
Djibouti.
Thirteen of the council's 15 members voted in favor of Resolution 1907
but veto-wielding China abstained while Libya, the lone Arab member of
the council and the current chair of the African Union, voted against.
The Ugandan-drafted text bans weapons sales to and from Eritrea, while
also imposing travel restrictions and asset freezes on the country's
political and military leadership.
The measure demands that Asmara "cease all efforts to destabilize or
overthrow, directly or indirectly" the Transitional Federal Government
(TFG) in Somalia.
It urges member states to conduct inspections on their territory, including
seaports and airports, of "all cargo to and from Somalia and Eritrea" if
there is reasonable grounds to believe the shipments contain banned
weapons or related material.
The text also presses Eritrea to withdraw troops immediately from
disputed territories along its frontier with Djibouti and engage in
diplomatic efforts leading to "a mutually acceptable" settlement of their
long-running border dispute.
It further calls on all member states, in particular Eritrea, to stop "arming,
training and equipping armed groups that aim to destabilize the region or
incite violence and civil strife in Djibouti," including Somalia's hardline
Islamic militants.
Libya's deputy UN ambassador, Ibrahim Dabbashi, said "sanctions are not
the ideal way of resolving problems" and would likely exacerbate the
humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa.
The Chinese ambassador to the United Nations, Zhang Yesui, argued the
"council should act prudently in adopting sanctions."
He stressed that sanctions should not replace diplomatic efforts to resolve
the issue through negotiations.
In a letter sent to the Security Council ahead of the vote, Eritrea's UN
ambassador, Araya Desta, urged all members "to use their influence to
ensure the rejection of this draft resolution in its entirety."
He accused Washington of being "the main architect" of a resolution that
"has no factual or legal justifications."
"The UN Security Council cannot penalize Eritrea for its views simply
because (Asmara) does not toe or conform to Washington's policy
choices and preferences," Desta charged.
Both the African Union and the east African Intergovernmental Authority
on Development (IGAD) bloc, which groups Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya,
Somalia, Sudan and Uganda, have been calling since July for UN
sanctions to punish Eritrea for backing Somali rebels.
The United States has blamed Eritrea for fanning the violence in Somalia,
a country that has not known peace for nearly two decades. A UN
monitoring group has detailed how Asmara supplies arms and cash to
Somali opposition forces.
Somalia's wobbly transitional government controls virtually no territory
and has been unable to govern the country due to constant and fierce
fighting with hardline Islamist militias.
On Eritrea's border dispute with Djibouti, the resolution reiterated the
Security Council's call in Resolution 1862 adopted in January that Asmara
pull out its forces and all their equipment from disputed territories and
ensure that no military presence or activity take place in the area.
That resolution had given Eritrea five weeks to pull out.
The dispute over the Ras Doumeira promontory on the shores of the Red
Sea last flared up in June 2008 after previous clashes in 1996 and 1999.
It has assumed a greater strategic significance because both France and
the United States have bases in the former French colony. The United
States stations over 1,200 troops in Djibouti, which hosts an anti-
terrorism task force in the Horn of Africa.
Resolution 1907 also directed UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to
report within 180 days on Asmara's compliance with its provisions.
Courtesy
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