EU changes tune on arms in Liberia

Date:18/09/03

By David Cronin

EU FOREIGN ministers look set to relax an arms embargo on Liberia so that peacekeepers in the war-ravaged west African state can receive training from European military advisors.

Member states had previously barred supplying weapons or training to armed groups, with the aim of halting arms trafficking between Liberia and guerillas from the Revolutionary United Front in neighbouring Sierra Leone.

But the departure of former president Charles Taylor from Liberia last month and the deployment of a Nigerian-led peacekeeping mission, ECOMIL, have prompted EU officials to revise the 2001 measures.

Foreign ministers are expected to endorse a European Commission recommendation on 29-30 September. This advocates that the arms embargo should be modified so that "technical training and assistance intended solely" for the mission or authorized by a special UN committee on Liberia can be provided by the EU.

This is expected to win support from all member states.

On Tuesday (16 September), the Commission announced details of €8 million in funding to help feed the peacekeepers and pay their daily allowances, as well as supporting preparations for the launch of the country's transitional government next month.

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council discussed a call by Secretary-General Kofi Annan for 15,000 international peacekeepers to be sent to Liberia. He urged that the force be given a mandate to use a wide range of resources to halt hostilities.

Elsewhere, a report by the Norwegian Refugee Council warns of "a humanitarian catastrophe emerging in Liberia".

European Union Foreign Ministers are expected to endorse a European Commission recommendation relaxing an arms embargo on Liberia when they meet on 29-30 September 2003.