The UN Security Council has unanimously voted to lift a ban on Liberian diamond exports imposed in 2001, when so-called 'blood diamonds' were being used to fuel civil wars in west Africa.
Britain's UN Ambassador, Emyr Jones Parry, the current council president, said the vote was 'a recognition of the progress made in Liberia' to ensure diamonds are mined legally.
Liberia applied on 27 March to join the Kimberley Process, a voluntary 71-nation group created out of the furor over diamond-funded wars in Sierra Leone and Angola.
Mr Jones Parry said the vote reflected a growing confidence in Liberia and its leadership.
