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国际英语新闻:UN Security Council strengthens sanctions against Somalia

2008-11-21来源:和谐英语
UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council decided on Thursday to strengthen the arms embargo on the violence-plagued nation of Somalia by specifying sanctions against violators and expanding the mandate of the committee that oversees the ban.

    Unanimously adopting resolution 1844, the council decided that travel restrictions and an asset freeze would be applied to individuals and entities that engaged in activities that threatened the peace and the political processes and obstructed humanitarian assistance, in addition to those that breached the weapons ban, which was put in place by resolution 733 of 1992 and amended by subsequent resolutions.

    The council charged the committee set up by resolution 733 with the task of examining allegations of violations of the arms embargo, designating individuals and entities to be on a list of those subjected to sanctions and regularly reviewing that list for accuracy.

    In a related provision, member states were encouraged to submit to the committee the names of individuals or entities to be included on the list, along with a detailed statement of the case against them.

    The council urged such states to review petitions for de-listing and encouraged the committee to ensure that fair and clear procedures existed for listing, de-listing and granting exemptions.

    UN International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Efthimios Mitropolous told the council that the escalating incidents of piracy in the Somalia waters and the Gulf of Aden was of great concern to his organization, adding that he was particularly concerned, not only by the frequency of attacks, but also by their ferocity.

    A total of 440 acts of piracy and armed robbery had been recorded since statistics had been compiled, he said.

    This year alone, 120 attacks had been reported, with 35 ships seized and more than 600 seafarers kidnapped, resulting the deaths of two seafarers, Mitropolous said.

    Somalia's UN Ambassador Elmi Ahmed Duale said the greatest challenges to the peace and stability in Somalia was not a lack of political will but a lack of security.

    The Transitional Federal Government did not have the capacity to defend and control the entire country and had inadequate or little financial support from the international community to enhance security, Duale said.