US concerned at Iran's expulsion of Afghan refugees

Tue May 22, 4:19 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States Tuesday voiced concern over Iran's large-scale deportations of Afghans living illegally in the country saying the flood of returning refugees was becoming a burden.

"The United States is concerned that a large influx of Afghan migrants is increasing the need for humanitarian assistance in western Afghanistan," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. The United Nations said Monday that more than 70,000 Afghans who were in Iran illegally have been expelled in the past month.

Tehran has said it wanted one million Afghans repatriated by next March. The 70,000 who have been sent back started returning from April 21.

Washington supported calls from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Kabul to ensure "that Afghans living and working illegally in Iran are deported in a gradual, orderly and humane manner," McCormack said.

Afghanistan has asked Iran to halt the returns, saying it does not have the capacity to accommodate a large number of people at once.

According to the UN more than one million out of the two million Afghans living in Iran were there illegally, McCormack said.

Registered Afghan refugees living in Iran were not being targeted for deportation however, he added.

U.N. lifts Liberian diamond ban

Text for Photo Above - Actor Djimon Hounsou stars in the action drama film Blood Diamond, which portrays many of the atrocities in the illegal diamond trade.

Published: 28/04/2007 12:00 AM (UAE)

Agencies

Liberia: The United Nations has lifted its 2001 ban on Liberia's diamond exports, saying the country has made enough progress in certifying rough diamonds. The ban was meant to stop the sale of "blood diamonds" or diamonds mined illegally, which has fuelled conflicts in West Africa. British ambassador to the UN Emyr Jones Parry said the unanimous vote on Friday was “recognition of the progress made in Liberia". "This government has shown its determination to put in place measures to ensure that the proceeds of diamond sales go for the benefit of Liberia and its people and are not misappropriated," he said. Exports of rough diamonds from Liberia were banned in 2003 to cut off funds to local rebel groups who illegally traded un-cut diamonds for weapons. Click for Full Article

nationaljewelernetwork.com
May 01, 2007
United Nations—The U.N. Security Council on Friday lifted a 6-year-old ban on Liberian diamond exports meant to prevent conflict diamonds from entering the world market.

According to published reports, the 15-nation council voted unanimously to lift the ban. The move was made in "recognition of the progress made by Liberia" in setting up controls on its diamonds, which helped fuel a 14-year civil war that ended in 2003, British Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry said.

The resolution, drafted in the United States, said the country had taken action to meet the minimum demands of the Kimberley Process (KP), which was created to track the flow of rough diamonds across borders to prove they come from legitimate sources.

The decision to lift the ban will be reviewed in 90 days.

Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, who took office last year, has pushed to end the embargo, saying money from diamond sales was necessary to finance reconstruction of the country, Reuters reported. The embargo was lifted two months before the latest extension of the ban was due to end.

"Liberia was ready," U.S. mission spokesman Ben Chang reportedly said. "The time was right."

Nathaniel Barnes, Liberia's U.N. Ambassador, reportedly said the country's application to join the Kimberley Process—filed late March—would be accepted.

He said the decision to lift the ban is important to the people of Liberia, which currently has 85 percent unemployment, with former combatants accounting for many of the jobless. Barnes reportedly said the resumption of diamond exports will help people get back to work.

The United Nations has already lifted a ban on Liberian timber exports, so the only sanctions remaining are a travel ban and assets freeze against certain named individuals, Reuters reports.

In a joint statement, non-governmental organizations Global Witness and Partnership Africa Canada called on members of the KP, the Security Council and the international community to assist the Liberian government in achieving important conflict-diamond-prevention goals and making diamonds a positive force for development.

"The government of Liberia has made good progress in establishing a system of controls to prevent diamonds from fueling conflict," Global Witness said in the statement. "This is a welcome step, but effective implementation and enforcement of the Kimberley Process, including accurate reporting and monitoring of trade and production statistics, will be crucial to ensuring that diamonds never again fuel wars. The government of Liberia must work to ensure that its system of controls is rigorously enforced, and that it takes full control of all diamond-mining areas."

In addition, Partnership Africa Canada said the Security Council and KP members must rigorously monitor Liberia's system of controls to make sure it is enforced.

"Cooperation with other diamond-producing countries of the region will be essential to the effectiveness of the Kimberley Process," the organization stated.

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U.N. chief urges global support for Iraq

By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer Sun Apr 29, 7:40 PM ET

UNITED NATIONS - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the world's major powers to support an economic and political reform package for Iraq at a conference in Egypt this week, saying this would encourage Iraqis to promote national reconciliation.

Ban is co-chairing Thursday's conference in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik to launch the International Compact with Iraq, which was established by the U.N. and Iraqi government shortly after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki took office in June 2006.

The five-year compact requires the government to enact key political and economic reforms during its transition to financial self-sufficiency and integration into the regional and global economy.

Ban and al-Maliki will push participants at the conference to forgive Iraq's huge debts and provide financial assistance to help implement the plan.

"This will be a very important international conference to help the Iraqi government to restore peace politically and economically," Ban said in an interview Thursday.

"We are very much concerned by continuing sectarian violence, and we hope that with this commitment from the international community, (the) Iraqi people will also do their own efforts to promote national reconciliation."

Asked whether the compact can make an actual difference in people's lives in the face of sectarian violence, Ban said he was confident it would send a "strong message" to the Iraqi people to work toward national reconciliation.

Arab countries are demanding that Iraq's Shiite-led government do more to reach out to disgruntled Sunni Arabs before pledging any substantial aid to the country, according to a document obtained by The Associated Press before the meeting.

That stance, and the festering tensions between Iraq and its neighbors, are complicating the U.S. and Iraqi goal of getting strong support for the compact and forgiveness of Iraq's huge debts.

Al-Maliki, on a Mideast tour last week, said Iraq would not tolerate other Arab countries setting conditions on his government. He also accused some Arab countries of still harboring extremists who infiltrate Iraq to launch attacks.

Ibrahim Gambari, the U.N. envoy for the Iraq Compact, noted last month that several countries have already said they will forgive about $4 billion in Iraqi debt.

Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi presented the compact to envoys from nearly 100 countries and international organizations in March at U.N. headquarters.

The compact includes provisions for an oil-profit sharing law, which Abdul-Mahdi predicted the Iraqi parliament would adopt in the coming weeks; a plan for drawing foreign investment into the country; and a fully funded budget for 2007 calling for a doubling of spending on education and health.