UN lifts Ivory Coast diamond embargo

Brussels - The UN Security Council lifted a nearly decade-old embargo on Ivory Coast's international diamond trade Tuesday and relaxed its arms ban on the West African country.

The diamond embargo was declared in 2005 because the precious stones were helping fund the Forces Nouvelles rebels that controlled the north of the nation after a failed coup attempt in 2002 against then-president Laurent Gbagbo.

However, the diamond trade is now regulated by the Kimberley Process, of which Ivory Coast is a member, and therefore the UN oversight is seen as redundant.

A resolution unanimously adopted by the Security Council's 15 member states terminates "the measures preventing the importation by any state of all rough diamonds from Cote d'Ivoire... in light of progress made towards Kimberley Process Certification."

Ivory Coast has for months been asking to be allowed to legally re-start exporting its diamonds and last November the government got the green light from the Kimberley Process for the United Nations to lift its embargo.

Created in 2000, the Kimberley Process is a global diamond watchdog that includes 75 countries and aims to prevent illegally mined and so-called blood diamonds from filtering into the market to fuel conflicts such as those in Angola or Sierra Leone.

Still, a recent report by UN experts said the illegal trade in raw diamonds continues in Ivory Coast, using networks that buy and then illegally export the gemstones via neighboring countries.

According to figures from the European Union, Ivory Coast extracts between 50 000 and 300 000 carats (1 carat = 0.2 grams) of diamonds a year, well behind the world's top producers. Between 200,000 to 300,000 Ivorians make their living from diamonds, mostly as small-scale miners.

Tuesday's resolution also relaxes the UN arms embargo on Ivory Coast.

Heavy weapons remain under strict controls but small caliber weapons will now be allowed to be supplied to police and gendarmes, subject to prior UN notification.

The goal is to empower local security forces as the UN mission in Ivory Coast draws down its forces, from a high of 10 400 to 7 137 currently. It is expected to be cut further to 5 400 by 2015.

Calm has returned to Ivory Coast since Gbagbo's fall from power in 2011, after post-election violence that left more than 3 000 people dead.