Security Council names 3 new entities subject to sanctions against Al-Qaida operatives

Three new entities have been added to the United Nations list of those subject to sanctions against Al-Qaida and Taliban operatives.

The updated list now includes the Benevolence International Foundation, which has offices in the United States, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, the Russian Federation, China, Croatia, Georgia, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Tajikistan and the United Kingdom. The organization is also active in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Gaza Strip and Yemen.

The Canada-based Benevolence International Fund and Bosanska Idealna Futura, which has five offices in Bosnia and Herzegovina, were also added to the list.

The list is updated regularly by a Security Council committee on the basis of information provided by Member States and regional organizations as required under Security Council resolutions 1267 (1999), 1333 (2000) and 1390 (2002). The first of those resolutions was adopted in response to the indictment of Usama bin Laden for the 1998 terrorist bombings of US embassies in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam, while the subsequent texts tightened the measures.

The UN sanctions require States to freeze financial resources, including funds derived or generated by any undertaking owned or controlled by the Taliban, and to ensure that they are not used by the group. Countries are also obliged to freeze funds and other financial assets of Usama bin Laden and his associates in the Al-Qaida organization, and to prevent their entry or transit through the State's territory. In addition, nations must prevent the supply, sale and transfer of all arms and materiel - along with any form of military training - to the named individuals and entities.