Security Council unanimously adopts wide-ranging measures to combat terrorism

Working late into the night on Friday, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution that reaffirms its unequivocal condemnation of the terrorist acts on the United States on 11 September and lays out wide-ranging strategies to combat international terrorism.

The Council also established a Committee to monitor the implementation of its resolution and called on all States to report within 90 days on actions they had taken to that end.

Adopted shortly before 11:00 pm on 28 September, the resolution says all countries should prevent and suppress the financing of terrorism, as well as criminalize the willful provision or collection of funds for such acts. The financial assets of those who commit, attempt to commit, or facilitate terrorist acts should also be frozen.

The Council decided States should prohibit their nationals or people in their territories from making funds or services available to those involved in terrorism, and refrain from providing support to people involved in terrorism, take steps to prevent terrorist acts, and deny safe haven to those who commit terrorist acts or provide safe havens to those who do.

The resolution also says States should prevent terrorists from using their territories for those purposes against other countries, bring anyone who has participated in terrorism to justice, and ensure that terrorist acts are established as serious criminal offences in domestic laws and punished accordingly.

States should help one another with criminal investigations or criminal proceedings relating to the financing or support of terrorist acts, and should prevent the movement of terrorists or their groups by effective border controls as well, the resolution says.

On data-sharing, the Council called on all States to intensify and accelerate the exchange of information regarding terrorist actions or movements, forged or falsified documents, traffic in arms and sensitive material, use of communications and technologies by terrorist groups, and the threat posed by the possession of weapons of mass destruction. Governments were also called on to exchange information and cooperate to prevent terrorist acts, and to take action against the perpetrators of such acts. States should also become parties to the relevant conventions and protocols to combat terrorism.

Before granting refugee status, all States should take appropriate measures to ensure that asylum seekers have not taken part in terrorist acts, the resolution states.

Countries should also ensure refugee status is not abused by the perpetrators of terrorist acts, and that claims of political motivation are not recognized as grounds for refusing requests for the extradition of alleged terrorists.

The Council noted with concern the close connection between international terrorism and transnational organized crime, illicit drugs, money laundering and illegal movement of nuclear, chemical, biological and other deadly materials. It emphasized the need to enhance the coordination of efforts to strengthen a global response to that threat to international security.

Reaffirming the need to combat threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts, the Council expressed its determination to take all necessary steps to fully implement its resolution.