UN/SOMALIA SANCTIONS: COUNCIL BRIEFED ON

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000923 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SO UNSC PGOV ETTC SUBJECT: UN/SOMALIA SANCTIONS: COUNCIL BRIEFED ON MONITORING GROUP CHALLENGES ¶1. SUMMARY: On October 9, the Chair of the Somalia Sanctions Committee updated the Council on the latest activities of the UN Monitoring Group charged with assessing implementation of the Somalia arms embargo. The Chair explained the Group's challenges identifying sources of financing for embargo violations and identified transportation by sea as the primary route to import arms. The UK told the Council it will soon distribute a draft resolution to impose a targeted sanctions regime for Somalia. END SUMMARY. ¶2. On October 9, South African UN Perm Rep Dumisani Kumalo, acting in his capacity as Chair of the Somalia Sanctions Committee, briefed the UN Security Council on information provided by the Somalia Monitoring Group during a mid-term presentation to the Somalia Sanctions Committee on September ¶9. (NOTE: The Monitoring Group is a UN-mandated team of experts charged with assessing the implementation of the UN arms embargo in Somalia. END NOTE). Kumalo noted the Monitoring Group had laid out to the Committee areas of primary investigative focus: namely, mapping armed forces and groups; sources of financing for arms embargo violations; piracy, kidnapping and ransom; methods of arms transportation; and security sector support and related compliance issues. ¶3. Kumalo explained that the Monitoring Group documented that the Ethiopian National Defense Forces have continued their support to the Transitional Federal Government and allied militias, and that Eritrea has been supporting various armed opposition groups. He added that the Monitoring Group experienced difficulties in investigating sources of financing for arms embargo violations, noting also the use of piracy, kidnapping and ransom in financing those violations. Kumalo further highlighted the use of transportation by sea as the primary means of importing arms, and that various donors (such as UNDP and UNOPS) were providing technical assistance and training to Somali police forces without properly notifying the Committee. ¶4. After Kumalo's presentation, the UK informed the Council that it was working on a new sanctions resolution for Somalia that would target individuals and entities who a) disrupt the peace in Somalia, b) breach the arms embargo, or c) impede access to or the delivery of humanitarian aid. The UK said it planned to informally distribute the draft resolution soon. Italy expressed its support for efforts to impose targeted sanctions, noting its concern that despite the existence of the arms embargo since 1992 Somalia remains awash with arms. Costa Rica commented that the Council is giving an impression of inaction on the issue of Eritrean support to armed groups and ought to discuss this issue at a later date. Khalilzad