YouSaid · the spoken record

Ayafor

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18
first
2001-11-05
most recent
2001-11-05
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1
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un-security-council

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  1. “That was not as a result of the imposition of sanctions, because the sanctions came into force in May this year. Besides, that is confirmed in the statement by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Liberia, who indicated that humanitarian assistance to Liberia started declining four years ago. If there are other requests for clarification, I would, with your permission, Madam President, invite Mr. Harjit Sandhu, who served as the focal point and Coordinator of the Panel, to add some details.”

    2001-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4405 (2001) · source

  2. “I now turn to the question raised by the United States as to why the activities of non-governmental organizations in the region are limited. We, as the Panel, cannot provide adequate answers as to why non- governmental organizations are not operating in Liberia or why humanitarian agencies, such as the United Nations Children's Fund, are not doing enough in Liberia. The representative of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, who is present, could probably provide answers to those questions. With regard to the humanitarian situation in Liberia before the imposition of sanctions, the Secretary-General's report (S/2001/939) contains on page 6 a graph showing that humanitarian assistance to Liberia started to decline some four years back.”

    2001-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4405 (2001) · source

  3. “Should it be the intention of the Council to have this situation investigated further, certainly the Panel would have no objections. With respect to the issue raised by Mali concerning our proposal in paragraph 66, we felt that within the period between now and when we proposed that the Panel could go back to the field there would be a vacuum. To fill that vacuum, we thought that the Secretariat could have an in-house officer for Liberia, who could continue to monitor compliance with resolution 1343 (2001). In the process, he could develop a database of whatever violations are registered from the field. He could also, in letters or telephone calls, request clarification and/or details, so that the Security Council Committee on Liberia, and eventually the Council itself, could be informed.”

    2001-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4405 (2001) · source

  4. “If there are any other questions that I did not take note of, I request that they be indicated so that we can give responses as we proceed. On the issue raised by the representatives of Norway and France, may I indicate that the focus of attention on international terrorism, and, more specifically, on the activities of bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network, only surfaced at the United Nations after the 11 September events. In this respect, while the Panel did not particularly investigate anything concerning the presence or activities of Al Qaeda in Sierra Leone or Liberia, we did note in our report the activities of the individual mentioned - Ibrahim Bah. His name came up in the Sierra Leone report, as well as the present report.”

    2001-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4405 (2001) · source

  5. “Mr. Ayafor: Before we address the issues that have been raised by some members of the Council, I would like, on behalf of the Panel, to thank the members of the Council for their appreciation directed to us, the members of the Panel, for the report. If I correctly recorded the questions raised, there was a question from Norway concerning information on alleged Bin Laden network activities in Sierra Leone. The same question was raised by the representative of France. The representative of Mali indicated that he wanted further clarification on the usefulness of the monitoring mechanism proposed by the Panel in its recommendation. Finally, three questions were raised by the representative of the United States.”

    2001-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4405 (2001) · source

  6. “Lastly, permit me to mention that this report would not have been possible without the dedication, courage, determination, tenacity, endurance, understanding, cooperation, sense of sacrifice and accommodation, friendliness and, above all, team spirit of the members of the Panel. May I further take this opportunity to extend appreciation for the support received from the United Nations Secretariat, the Security Council Committee on Liberia, the United Nations Resident Coordinators and United Nations Development Programme officials in almost every country the Panel Visited and the Governments and individuals that provided substantial and helpful information to the Panel during the investigation.”

    2001-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4405 (2001) · source

  7. “In many of the countries to which the Panel went, information-sharing and cooperation led to visible changes in the behaviour of the trafficking networks. Airline companies had to move their operations, some key individuals changed addresses or phone numbers, and some operations were stopped. This was a part of the search for peace in the region; what price tag can we place on peace and security? During the Panel's presentation to the Committee on 19 and 25 October 2001, the Panel shared as much evidence as possible with the members of the Committee. However, should the need arise, and should time permit, the Panel members are available for any further questions and/or clarifications required.”

    2001-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4405 (2001) · source

  8. “In such cases, further investigation will be required to collect incontrovertible evidence to support the case. This includes the case of the supply of ammunition to non- State actors in the subregion. In its report, the Panel has delineated a series of specific recommendations for all the areas covered in the report. Timely implementation of those recommendations will go a long way in furthering the peace process in the subregion and in maintaining the momentum observed thus far. As indicated earlier, the Panel travelled extensively and covered 36 countries. This has earned the Panel a reputation as the most travelled Panel of the United Nations, and probably the most expensive too. This travel was necessitated by Panel members' decision to verify every possible detail of the cases that were investigated.”

    2001-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4405 (2001) · source

  9. “This report covers in great detail the findings on the role of transportation in arms-trafficking, fraudulent aircraft registrations, the dynamics of the diamond trade, the misuse of end-user certificates, the misuse of Liberian Government revenue derived from maritime, logging and other forms of economic activity, violations of the travel ban and other violations of the resolution. Despite the Liberian Government's public statements of having complied with the arms embargo, a steady flow of new weapons continues to enter the country. In that respect, the Panel has documented five detailed case studies on such sanctions violations. In addition to the findings indicated in the report, the Panel has collected evidence that was not included in the report because it did not meet the high evidentiary criteria set by the Panel.”

    2001-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4405 (2001) · source

  10. “Their actions have had destabilizing consequences, and can again destabilize the region. The junction of the borders of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone has been the fault zone where these groups have thrived. The Panel remained cognizant of the humanitarian situation before and after the imposition of the sanctions on Liberia, and was fully aware of the concerns of Member States in that respect. The Panel also kept in mind the overall intentions of the Security Council to further the peace process in Sierra Leone and neighbouring countries.”

    2001-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4405 (2001) · source

  11. “Welcome regional diplomatic efforts are under way to further advance bilateral relations between the three members of the Mano River Union, although there is still active conflict in Lofa County, Liberia, and the possibility of Sierra Leone gravitating back into conflict if the RUF does not want to release its hold on some of the best diamond areas. In order to curtail the support for RUF rebels who are still unwilling to give up their interests in diamonds for a lasting peace agreement in Sierra Leone, Liberia's total disengagement from the RUF must be ensured. There has been a proliferation of the use of non- State actors in conflicts in the Mano River Union countries. These groups obtain weapons from State supporters; from their trade in diamonds, alluvial gold, cocoa and coffee; and from their military actions.”

    2001-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4405 (2001) · source

  12. “In collecting all this evidence, the Panel was able to identify the most important networks supplying Liberia and the RUF, and to give an analysis of the key players in those networks - suppliers, transport agents, brokers, suppliers of forged documents and organizers at the receiving end of the arms pipeline. The Panel was also able to document how, and through which bank accounts, those arms shipments were financed. In mid-April, when the Panel embarked upon its mandate, there were active hostilities in the three Mano River Union countries: Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Six months on, there are significant signs of improvement in the situation.”

    2001-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4405 (2001) · source

  13. “To satisfy the oft-repeated rhetoric of "Where is the evidence?" "If you have evidence, show it", the Panel traced and reconstructed the entire sequence of events, starting from the origin of weapons to their end destination, using documentary evidence and the direct eyewitness accounts of the persons involved. Concerning the planes involved in supplying illegal arms in Liberia, the Panel has in its possession copies of contracts signed by the contracting parties, requests and permission for overflight and landing, flight plans, cargo manifests, airway bills, documents showing the owners or operating agencies of the aircraft involved, pilots' logbooks, and insurance documents for the cargo and the planes concerned.”

    2001-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4405 (2001) · source

  14. “Wherever possible, it also considered putting allegations to those concerned in order to allow them the right of reply. During the investigation, where possible, the Panel shared the relevant information and cooperated with the States concerned for further thorough investigation at their level. Where appropriate, the Panel also brought the information collected during the course of investigation to the attention of authorities to allow them the right of reply, as requested in paragraph 20 of resolution 1343 (2001). A significant number of countries came forward with useful information on individuals behind certain shady companies and their financial transactions.”

    2001-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4405 (2001) · source

  15. “Some countries volunteered information and invited the Panel to verify it. In others, the Panel cooperated with the authorities to obtain details on certain activities taking place within their jurisdiction. There has been a great deal of mystique attached to several places in the subregion of Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and cote d'Ivoire. The Panel visited all such areas where it was humanly possible. The Panel also received useful cooperation and assistance from several international organizations, such as INTERPOL, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and made proper use of their expertise. The Panel used high evidentiary standards throughout its investigation.”

    2001-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4405 (2001) · source

  16. “In carrying out its mandate, the Panel requested specific information from the relevant countries, through their Permanent Missions to the United Nations, regarding certain arms shipments, the movement of suspicious aircraft used for the illegal transportation of arms and ammunition, and other aspects of the mandate. In each country, Panel members interviewed Government authorities and, where relevant, diplomatic missions, civil society organizations, aid agencies and private sector firms. They also contacted a number of individuals suspected of being involved in the violations of sanctions as well as individuals whose names have been the subject of interest in recent months in connection with the crisis in the subregion. The Panel travelled extensively to countries which evidence led it to.”

    2001-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4405 (2001) · source

  17. “Following the adoption of resolution 1343 (2001) on 7 March 2001, the Secretary-General on 23 March announced (S/2001/268) the appointment of a Panel of Experts with a mandate to, among other things, investigate violations of the newly tightened arms embargo on Liberia, the ban on exports of Liberian diamonds, and the travel ban on senior members of the Government of Liberia, its armed forces and their spouses and other individuals providing financial and military support to armed rebel groups; collect information on compliance by the Government of Liberia with the demands to expel all members of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) from Liberia, cease all financial and military support to the RUF, cease all direct or indirect imports of Sierra Leone rough diamonds, freeze funds or financial resources controlled by the RUF in Liberia and ground all Liberian registered aircraft; further investigate possible links between the exploitation of natural resources, other forms of economic activity in Liberia and the fuelling of conflict in Sierra Leone and neighbouring countries, in particular those areas highlighted by the report of the Panel of Experts established pursuant to resolution 1306 (2000) concerning Sierra Leone; collect information linked to the illegal activities of the individuals referred to in the report of the Panel of Experts on Sierra Leone; and, finally, collect information concerning any other alleged Violations of resolution 1343 (2001).”

    2001-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4405 (2001) · source

  18. “Mr. Ayafor: Madam President, at the outset, I would like to congratulate you on your assumption of the presidency for the month of November. I thank you for this unique opportunity granted to me as Chairman, on behalf of the Panel of Experts on Liberia, to address the Security Council at its public meeting today. I also thank Ambassador Kishore Mahbubani, Chairman of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1343 (2001) concerning Liberia, for his introduction of the Panel's report.”

    2001-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4405 (2001) · source