STATE DEPARTMENT AFFIRMS ARMS EMBARGO AGAINST LIBERIA

STATE DEPARTMENT AFFIRMS ARMS EMBARGO AGAINST LIBERIA    The U.S. State Department, in support of a recent U.N. Security Council Resolution, has issued notice that will continue to uphold its nearly 10-year-old arms embargo against Liberia.
   Since the early 1990s, Liberia has supported armed rebel groups in the region and the Revolutionary United Front in Sierra Leone in orchestrating attacks on neighboring countries.
   On March 7, The U.N. Security Council adopted Resolution 1343, replacing an earlier arms embargo from 1993 with a broader one. “UNSCR 1343 requires that all states prevent the sale or supply to Liberia by their nationals or from their territories or using their flag vessels or aircraft, of arms and related material of all types, including weapons and ammunition, military vehicles and equipment, paramilitary equipment and spare parts,” the State Department notice said.
   The U.S. government has denied the export of defense articles and services to Liberia since 1992 and included the country in the 1993 International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).
   The State Department said “the U.S. government will continue to deny all applications for licenses and other approvals to export or otherwise transfer defense articles and services to Liberia.”
   Exceptions to this denial policy include mostly “non-lethal” goods intended for humanitarian or “protective use,” and will be considered by the State Department on a case-by-case basis.