UN council waters down Eritrea sanctions resolution
Fri Dec 2, 2011 9:27pm GMT
* Original draft would have banned mining investment
* Eritrea president invited to address council on Monday
* UN says Eritrea supports Somali Islamists, Asmara denies
By Patrick Worsnip
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 2 (Reuters) - A resolution tightening sanctions on
Eritrea, expected to be passed by the U.N. Security Council next week, has
been watered down and no longer bans investment in the country's promising
mining sector.
In an unusual arrangement, Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki has been
invited to address the council on Monday morning but not to take part in a
session in the afternoon scheduled to pass the resolution, diplomats said on
Friday.
But there were conflicting reports on whether Isaias got a U.S. visa to come
to New York. It was unclear whether he would attend the council on Monday or
whether the debate and vote on the resolution would be held then or later in
the week.
The original draft of the resolution, circulated by Gabon in October, would
have banned foreign firms from investing in Eritrea's mining industry,
outlawed imports of its minerals and sought to block payment of a tax
Eritrea puts on remittances from its nationals abroad.
The measures add to existing sanctions, including an arms embargo, passed
against the Horn of Africa state two years ago in retaliation for its
alleged support of Islamist rebels in Somalia. Eritrea denies the
allegation.
The latest version of the text, obtained by Reuters, simply requires
countries to make their companies involved in mining in Eritrea exercise
"vigilance" to ensure funds derived from the sector are not used to
destabilize the region.
On remittances, the draft calls on states to act to ensure Eritrea ceases
"using extortion, threats of violence, fraud and other illicit means to
collect taxes outside of Eritrea from its nationals." It also "condemns"
Eritrea for using a remittance tax to fund mischief in the Horn of Africa.
Eritrea is seen to be on the brink of a minerals boom that could revive its
struggling economy, while remittances it gets from its large diaspora in the
West and Middle East are its biggest source of foreign exchange.
The country's most advanced mining project, Bisha, believed to contain gold,
copper and zinc, is run by Canada's Nevsun Resources Ltd. Earlier this year,
Eritrea granted Australia's Chalice Gold Mines two new exploration licenses
in a nearby location.
SUPPORT TO ARMED GROUPS
The push for fresh sanctions follows a report by a U.N. monitoring group in
July that found Eritrea continued to provide political, financial, training
and logistical support to al Shabaab and other armed groups in Somalia.
Eritrea's U.N. Ambassador Araya Desta told Reuters the allegations were
"ridiculous" and the draft resolution "outrageous."
The Inter Governmental Authority on Development, or IGAD, which groups seven
East African states, called in July for more sanctions to hit the Eritrean
mining sector and remittances.
Diplomats said Russia and China opposed such sanctions and that some
European countries and the United States also felt the original draft was
too tough and could penalize the Eritrean people.
Eritrea has blamed its rival Ethiopia, from which it split away in 1993, for
the sanctions drive.
Eritrea asked in October that Isaias be allowed to address the council to
express his opposition to sanctions. The 15-nation body has been discussing
the request since then and finally issued an invitation this week.
Asmara responded that Monday was too soon and requested a delay. Diplomats
told Reuters the United States wanted the meeting to go ahead on Monday but
China, Russia and South Africa were proposing a two-day delay to allow
Isaias to come.
Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters Moscow still had
reservations about aspects of the resolution but he did not suggest it would
not go through.
Diplomats said officials from other countries in the region that are not on
the council - possibly including Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Djibouti - were
also expected to address the council on the issue next week. (Additional
reporting by Louis Charbonneau at the United Nations and Aaron Maasho in
Addis Ababa; Editing by John O'Callaghan)
C Thomson Reuters 2011 All rights reserved
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Received on Fri Dec 02 2011 - 22:23:43 EST