Security Council bans uncertified diamonds

The UN Security Council has imposed an 18-month ban on the trade in uncertified rough diamonds from Sierra Leone in a bid to stop their sale from funding the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebellion. Expressing concern at the role played by the illicit trade in diamonds in fuelling the conflict in Sierra Leone and at reports that the gems transit through neighbouring countries, including Liberia, the Council asked all states to prohibit the direct or indirect import of such diamonds into their territory, a UN news release said on Wednesday. The Council exempted from the prohibition the import of rough diamonds whose origin was certified by the Government of Sierra Leone, and it called upon the diamond industry to cooperate with the ban.