§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement regarding the recent United Nations report concerning the role of Gambia in trafficking in conflict diamonds. [145263]
§ Mr. HainThe UK Government take very seriously the findings of the UN Sierra Leone Expert Panel in its hard-hitting report on violations of the UN arms embargo on Sierra Leone and the link between the arms trade and the diamonds trade. The Panel's findings on the transit of Sierra Leone diamonds through Gambia are worrying.
We look forward to the first substantive discussion of the report and its recommendations during an Open Debate of the UN Security Council to be held later this month. We will be calling therefore Gambia to take active steps to dispel international concern regarding its role in the international diamond trade.