UN Member States Asked to Implement New Sanctions Against TalibanAll UN member states are requested to take steps to implement further sanctions against Afghanistan's the Taliban, a U.N. spokesman said here Friday.New UN sanctions against the Taliban automatically came into force Friday after the warring party failed to hand over Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden to face trial in the US on terrorism charges. The further sanctions include an arms embargo, tightening of an existing flight embargo and a freeze on the Taliban's assets abroad. UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said all UN member states have 30 days to report on the steps they take to implement the new sanctions. The secretary-general is also requested to appoint a committee of experts to make recommendations on monitoring the arms embargo and closure of terrorist training camps in the territory under the control of the Taliban, Eckhard said. The sanction measures were adopted by the United Nations Security Council a month ago, which said the bans would go into force one month after they were adopted if the Taliban failed to comply with U.N. Resolution 1267 of 1999. The further bans were established for 12 months. At the end of this period, the Security Council will decide whether to extend them for a further period with the same sanctions. UN Resolution 1267 was adopted in October 1999 to urge the Taliban, the largest warring party in Afghanistan, to hand over bin Laden immediately and to close terrorist training camps in the territory under its control. The resolution also froze the Taliban's assets and imposed an air embargo in the Taliban-run Ariana Airlines. Bin Laden is charged by the United States with plotting the August 1998 bombings of two US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed at least 225 people and wounded more than 4,000. So far the Taliban has refused to hand over bin Laden, saying that the United States had offered them no proof of his involvement in the bombings. Further UN Sanctions Against Taliban Come Into ForceFurther United Nations sanctions against Afghanistan's Taliban came into force Friday after the warring party failed to hand over Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden to face trial in the US on terrorism charges. The further sanctions include an arms embargo, tightening of an existing flight embargo and a freeze on the Taliban's assets abroad. The sanction measures were adopted by the United Nations Security Council a month ago which said the bans would go into force one month after they were adopted if the Taliban failed to comply with UN Resolution 1267 of 1999. The further bans were established for 12 months. At the end of this period, the Security Council will decide whether to extend them for a further period with the same sanctions. U.N. Resolution 1267 was adopted in October 1999 which urged the Taliban, the largest warring party in Afghanistan, to hand over bin Laden immediately and to close terrorist training camps in the territory under its control. The resolution also froze the Taliban's assets and imposed an air embargo in the Taliban-run Ariana Airlines. Bin Laden is charged by the United States with plotting the August 1998 bombings of two US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed at least 225 people and wounded more than 4,000. So far the Taliban has refused to hand over bin Laden, saying that the United States had offered them no proof of his involvement in the bombings. |
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