Brussels, 14/12/2004 (Agence Europe) - The EU External Relations Council decided on Monday, in Brussels, to impose restrictive measures against Ivory Coast aimed at implementing the UN Security Council Resolution 1572, adopted on 15 November this year. Such sanctions mainly consist in an arms embargo, as well as a ban on visas and the freezing of assets of certain persons.
The prohibitive measures concern: - the sale or supply of arms by nationals of Member States or from EU territories; - the supply of technical assistance related to military activities; - the provision of financial assistance or materials that may be used for internal repression; - and entry into the EU of persons who constitute a threat to the peace and national reconciliation process in Ivory Coast, or who are considered responsible for violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, as well as the freezing of those persons' funds and economic resources.
The restrictive measures, known as "intelligent sanctions", are set out in a Council common position adopted without debate under Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). The visa ban and the freezing of assets will apply from 15 December on those persons included on the UN Security Council's list, still to be drawn up. The other sanctions, to be applied immediately, have been in force since Monday. The text of the Council's common position will soon be published in the Official Journal of the EU.