U.N. Imposes Conditional Global Embargo on Haiti : Caribbean: The tough sanctions take effect in a week if there’s no progress in restoring the ousted president. The Security Council vote is 15-0.

The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday imposed a worldwide oil, arms and financial embargo on Haiti, effective unless action is taken within a week toward restoring ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power.

The resolution was adopted by a unanimous 15-0 vote and is aimed at forcing Haiti’s military-backed regime, which overthrew Aristide in September, 1991, to return him to office.

The sanctions will come into force a minute after midnight on June 23 unless Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali decides that enough progress has been made in negotiations to restore democracy to the Caribbean nation.

“Haiti stands at an important crossroads,” said U.S. Ambassador Madeleine Albright in her address to the council.

“Haitians in leadership positions now must do their part (and) we look to them to demonstrate the patriotism and statesmanship their country requires,” she said.

Haiti is the sixth country currently targeted by the Security Council for punitive measures of varying severity. The others are South Africa, Iraq, Yugoslavia, Somalia and Libya.

The embargo was adopted under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which carries the threat of force to ensure compliance.

The resolution imposes a ban on oil and weapons shipments and a freeze of financial assets on official funds abroad as well as those of Haiti’s governing elite.

But enforcement provisions were weakened during discussions early Wednesday, and the document no longer specifically calls for a blockade. But the resolution might be cited by countries in carrying out their own searches.

Diplomats said they expect oil companies to obey the embargo rather than risk disapproval to supply a relatively small market. The resolution creates a sanctions committee to monitor compliance.

The document was sponsored by the United States, France and Venezuela. Canada, whose ambassador spoke at the meeting, was instrumental in the negotiations although it is not a member of the council this year.

Haiti’s Parliament voted Tuesday to recognize Aristide as the country’s leader, but it granted him so little power that his supporters rejected the offer and the Security Council paid no attention to it.

The 34-nation Organization of American States a year ago imposed a ban at all Western Hemisphere ports against any oil tankers going to Haiti.

But that embargo did not apply worldwide, and oil sold to European-based oil companies, particularly in the Netherlands, was delivered to Haiti, industry sources said.

Before the military coup, about 70% of all of Haiti’s trade was with the United States.

Specifically, the draft prohibits all commercial or non-commercial maritime shipping from entering Haitian waters if the vessels are carrying petroleum, arms, munitions, military or police equipment.

However, cooking gas used by the general population can be delivered in limited quantities.

But diplomats admit there will be difficulties in preventing contraband goods from reaching Haiti from the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola.

They believe the Haitian military has stockpiled several weeks or months worth of fuel.

Sanctions can be lifted by the council if Boutros-Ghali certifies that Haitian officials have “signed and have begun implementing in good faith an agreement to reinstate the legitimate government of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.”

Aristide, a Roman Catholic priest and the country’s first democratically elected leader, was opposed by the army and Haiti’s elite, who have resisted his return.