Syria Demands not to Mention that Israel Heads KP

Syria on Friday asked the U.N. General Assembly to remove any mention of Israel’s leadership of the Kimberley Process. In November, Israel was voted to chair the KP in 2010 after it served as deputy chair in 2009. The Arab country raised the objection as the Assembly was discussing a Namibia-sponsored resolution welcoming progress made in the battle to cut the trade in conflict diamonds, according to an AP report. The six-page draft resolution mentioned that Namibia is stepping down from chairing KP, and that Israel is replacing it. The Syrian demand caused the General Assembly to suspend its deliberations for consultations. 

Whenn the Assembly reconvened, the Syrian amendment was rejected 90-6, with 18 abstentions. Iran and North Korea joined Syria and three other Arab nations in voting against Israel. One of the issues the KP is currently confronting is suspicious rough diamond trading between Lebanese traders in West Africa and Lebanon. Observers suspect that the trade hides financial transactions by Hezbollah, which is sponsored by Syria and Iran. Source:idexonline.com/