§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the President of Burkina Faso about the recent UN report concerning his country and breaches of UN arms and diamonds bans on anti-Government forces in Angola and Sierra Leone. [145262]
§ Mr. HainThe UK Government have not yet made any representations to the President of Burkina Faso following the recent reports by the UN Sierra Leone Expert Panel on violations of the UN arms embargo and the link between arms and the trade in Sierra Leone diamonds, and by the UN Angola Monitoring Mechanism on violations of UN sanctions against UNITA.
The Sierra Leone report's findings and recommendations will be discussed in detail at an Open Debate of the UN Security Council later this month. Members of the Council will then consider appropriate follow-up action. The UN Angola Sanctions Committee will also discuss the Monitoring Mechanism's report this month.
We have previously raised our concerns with the Burkinabe authorities concerning allegations that arms have been shipped from Burkina Faso in breach of UN sanctions and I have publicly criticised its Government about this.