EU, US to urge UN sanctions on Syria, ICC referral - AlertNet

EU, US to urge UN sanctions on Syria, ICC referral - AlertNet

clipped from article:

Envoys: US, EU want several officials, firms blacklisted

* Draft to call for referring Syria crackdown to ICC

* Unclear if Russia, China will support Syria sanctions

By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 22 (Reuters) - A European and U.S. draft resolution will call for U.N. Security Council sanctions against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and several other top officials, council diplomats told Reuters on Monday.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, diplomats said the resolution's drafters -- the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Portugal -- included several Syrian firms that they hoped to blacklist and urged referring Syria's clampdown on protests to the permanent war-crimes tribunal in The Hague.

Typically, U.N. sanctions against individuals include an international travel ban and mandatory freezing of any financial assets. Sanctioned companies face an asset freeze and it becomes illegal for any firm to do business with them.

A senior Western diplomat hinted last week that the proposed sanctions could include an arms embargo. Moscow might have trouble with that because Russia is a long-standing arms supplier for Damascus.

"There are four names of individuals and two or three entities (firms)," a diplomat familiar with negotiations said.

The five Western powers hoped to circulate a draft to the other 10 council members. Once it reaches the full 15-nation council, there will be further negotiations and the text will likely be revised.
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