Global perspective Human stories

Fighting terrorism must remain UN priority, Security Council told

Fighting terrorism must remain UN priority, Security Council told

Amb. Heraldo Muñoz briefs the Council
If the United Nations wanted to make any headway on the key aspects of its agenda- from development and peace to human rights and the rule of law - the fight against terrorism must remain a priority, the Security Council was told today.

If the United Nations wanted to make any headway on the key aspects of its agenda- from development and peace to human rights and the rule of law - the fight against terrorism must remain a priority, the Security Council was told today.

In an open briefing on threats to international peace and security, Ambassador Heraldo Muñoz of Chile, who heads the Council's committee overseeing sanctions against Al-Qaida and the Taliban, stressed that preventing terrorist attacks required extensive and effective international cooperation.

"The United Nations is the only organ equipped to martial the required level of commitment to address this threat, which, given the global network of Al-Qaida, reaches almost every corner of the world," he said.

Reviewing the work of the committee since the Council strengthened the sanctions and modified the panel's framework in January, Ambassador Muñoz said several positive developments occurred, including an increase in State compliance.

Despite some advances, however, terrorism remained a serious threat to international peace and security, he noted. Given the recent occurrence of terrorist incidences worldwide, the committee should have regular communication with Member States and report regularly to the Council.

On implementation of the sanctions, Ambassador Muñoz said a preliminary assessment by the monitoring team of the reports submitted by Member States had shown that their quality had been uneven. Most had not provided precise details on implementation initiatives, and the information requested was often lacking.

Regarding legislation, many Member States had not appeared to have incorporated the sanctions in their domestic legislation or administrative rules, and considered their existing laws to be sufficient to deal with all forms of terrorism. However, that had not always been supported by the facts, especially with regard to freezing financial assets and resources. And, only a few States had indicated their intentions to amend their laws.

On the travel ban, he said that most States appeared to have integrated the consolidated list into their border control systems, but only a few had been able to do that electronically or in a way that allowed for quick and efficient transmission of data. On the arms embargoes, most States appeared to have adequate legislation to deal with the illicit acquisition of both conventional and unconventional arms, although many had not taken specific measures to implement those provisions.

image

Video of Council meeting [2hrs 19mins]