PRESS STATEMENT BY SUDAN SANCTION COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN AMBASSADOR ADAMANTIOS TH. VASSILAKIS

PRESS STATEMENT BY SUDAN SANCTION COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN

AMBASSADOR ADAMANTIOS TH. VASSILAKIS

Following consultations among the members of the Security Council on 29 April and 4 May 2005, the members agreed to elect the Chairman and the Vice-Chairmen of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1591 (2005) concerning Sudan for a period ending 31 December 2005:  Chairman: His Excellency Mr. Adamantios Th. Vassilakis (Greece), Vice-Chairmen: Argentina and Philippines.

The Committee held its first meeting on 5 May 2005 and has begun its work.

Resolution 1591 (2005) authorizes the Committee to monitor the implementation of the measures referred to in Resolution 1591, which include:

a)    An arms embargo which immediately came into force following the Security Council’s adoption of resolution 1556 (2004) on July 30, 2004, and whose scope was extended with the Council’s adoption of resolution 1591 (2005) to include all parties to the N’Djanema Ceasefire Agreement and any other belligerents in the three States of Darfur.

b)    A travel ban and an assets freeze against those individuals, as

designated by the Committee, who impede the peace process, constitute a threat to stability in Darfur and the region, commit violations of international humanitarian or human rights law or other atrocities, violate the expanded arms embargo, or are responsible for prohibited offensive military overflights.

The Committee also considered organizational issues on its future work.

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