Sanctions against Liberia
General information about the sanctions
Between 1989 and 2003, Liberia was plagued by civil war and violence. During this period, the UN introduced sanctions against the country. Initially only an arms embargo was introduced, but over time the sanctions were extended. Since a peace agreement was reached on 18 August 2003, the situation in Liberia has slowly stabilised and positive, peaceful and democratic developments have been seen in the country.
Despite the peace agreement, compliance with the sanctions in place remained poor. Among other things, the United Nations pointed to the fact that the trade in diamonds and timber was fuelling the conflicts in Liberia and West Africa as a whole. Because of this, the UN Security Council adopted Resolutions 1521 (2003) and 1532 (2004), which established more stringent sanctions against Liberia. Apart from the arms embargo, the sanctions involved the freezing of assets and travel restrictions for certain people who represented a threat to the peace process in Liberia. In addition, certain trade restrictions for timber and diamonds were introduced.
In January 2006 parts of these sanctions were lifted. The previous sanctions on the trade in diamonds and timber were removed since the financial profits from these industries no longer finance further conflict in Liberia. The restrictions existing today target factors and actors that can disrupt peaceful development in the country. Remaining sanctions are those comprising prohibitions against the sale of military equipment and the performance of military services, and travel restrictions on, and the freezing of assets belonging to people regarded as constituting a threat to the peaceful development of the country. Among these are the former rebel leader and subsequent president Charles Taylor and his closest associates, and people who violate the prohibition on supplying military equipment and other services.
The two resolutions were followed up in the EU with the adoption of various legal instruments. These have subsequently been amended and extended in accordance with later Security Council resolutions. Like UN security Council resolutions, common positions adopted by the EU Council of Ministers are binding for Sweden under international law. Their application primarily takes place through national legislation such as that on Swedish military equipment and extradition. EC regulations, which are also adopted by the Council of Ministers, are directly applicable in Sweden and apply as national Swedish law.
