Four Experts to Investigate Violations of Somali Arms Ban

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed a four-person expert panel to investigate violations of the arms embargo against Somalia.

The move was transmitted in a letter to the President of the Security Council and comes after the 15-nation body adopted a resolution last month to re-establish the Panel of Experts and give it the mandate to look into breaches of the weapons ban covering access to Somalia by land, air and sea.

Appointed by Mr. Annan were Edward Howard Johns of the United States, Mohamed Abdoulaye M’Backe of Senegal, Johan Peleman of Belgium and Pavanjeet Singh Sandhu of India. Mr. Peleman was also designated the group’s Chairman.

The decision to re-establish the team, to be based in Kenya, came after the Council considered the Panel’s latest report, which stated that even after the signing of the Eldoret Declaration, most factions in Somalia have continued to import or receive weapons in breach of the arms embargo. Somali leaders who participated in last year's conference in Eldoret, Kenya, had rededicated themselves to the search for peace.

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