UNSC extends mandate of monitoring group for Somalia and Eritrea

The UN Security Council extended the mandate of the United Nations expert panel monitoring compliance with sanctions against Somalia and Eritrea for 16 months. In a resolution adopted on Wednesday, the Security Council asked Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to re-establish the eight-member Monitoring Group on Eritrea and Somalia until November 25,  2014. The group, which monitors compliance with the embargoes on the delivery of weapons and military equipment to Somalia and Eritrea, also investigates any seaport operations in Somalia that could generate revenue for the militant group known as Al-Shabaab that controls some Somali territory. The Security Council in 1992 imposed an embargo on all deliveries of weapons and military equipment to Somalia. In March, the Council partially lifted the weapons ban for one year to boost the Somalian government’s capacity to protect areas recovered from Al-Shabaab and defend against fresh attempts by such groups to destabilize the country. The resolution indicated that the arms embargo would not apply to arms or equipment sold or supplied solely for the development of the government’s security forces, but it kept its restrictions in place on heavy weapons, such as surface-to-air missiles. - Charcoal ban- The 15-member Council also expresses its concern at reports of continuing violations of the charcoal ban by member states and stresses that it is willing to take action against those violate the ban. It also reiterates that a charcoal export ban applies to all charcoal from Somalia, whether or not it originated in the country, and requested AMISOM to support and assist Somali authorities in preventing the export of charcoal from the country. Upon upsurge of violence in Iraq, UN Security Council had formerly extended the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) until July 31, 2014. In a unanimously adopted resolution, the 15-member body also called on the government of Iraq to continue to provide security and logistical support to the Mission, and on member states to continue to provide it with sufficient resources. Further, the Council decided that the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq and UNAMI shall continue their mandate with regard to overseeing outstanding issues relating to Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait. As the resolution said, violence and terrorist acts in Iraq that have targeted mainly civilians and civilian infrastructure resulted in high civilian casualties, according to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s latest report on UNAMI. “The scale of renewed violence in Iraq during the reporting period is alarming. I again urge political leaders from all sides to intensify their efforts to resolve the continuing political stalemate in accordance with the Constitution, through serious dialogue and with a spirit of compromise, so that no space is left to those who seek to exploit the situation through violence and terror,” he stated in the report. According to casualty figures released by UNAMI, a total of 3,000 Iraqis were killed and more than 7,000 were wounded in acts of terrorism and acts of violence in the last 4 months. UNAMI is a political mission established by the 2003 UN Security Council Resolution 1500 at the request of the government of Iraq. It has been on the ground ever since, with its role greatly expanded in 2007 with the passage of Resolution 1770. UNAMI is mandated to advise and assist the government and people of Iraq on a number of fronts. This includes advancing inclusive, political dialogue and national reconciliation, assisting in the electoral process and in the planning for a national census, facilitating regional dialogue between Iraq and its neighbors, and promoting the protection of human rights and judicial and legal reform.