Interpol publishes first notices for suspected terrorists on UN sanctions list

In a bid to tighten the noose around terrorists, the first Interpol-United Nations Security Council Special Notices have been issued for individuals targeted by UN sanctions against Al-Qaida and the Taliban.

Among the individuals on this first group of four notices is Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, one of the world’s most notorious terrorist suspects, wanted by police in a number of countries for a series of major attacks on Al-Qaida’s behalf.

The new notices are being distributed to all of Interpol’s 184 member countries using the organization’s global police communications system. If the whereabouts of suspects named in these notices become known to police, the Interpol National Central Bureau in the country concerned will be notified immediately so that competent authorities can take the necessary action to implement the UN sanctions against them.

The new initiative responds to a Security Council resolution unanimously adopted in July which called on the Secretary-General to work with Interpol to provide better tools to assist the Council’s ‘1267 Committee,’ which is responsible for monitoring the freezing of assets, travel bans and arms embargos aimed at groups and individuals associated with Al-Qaida and the Taliban.

The creation of the Interpol-UN Security Council Special Notice was approved formally by Interpol’s General Assembly in Berlin in September, and a team at the Interpol General Secretariat in Lyon, France, was immediately assigned to work with UN officials on details of implementation and related technical issues.

“I believe publication of these new notices will send an important message to the international community that Interpol and the United Nations are working together in a proactive manner to ensure that terrorists are brought to justice,” Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble said.

“I think the very fact that notices of this sort are being published will have a significant effect on the movement of terrorist suspects across international borders and will make it less likely they will engage in financial dealings or the purchase of weapons.”

The Consolidated List on Al-Qaida and the Taliban maintained by the 1267 Committee contains the names of more than 300 suspects and more than 100 entities. The UN and Interpol will work together to issue additional special notices in the future for many of the individuals on the list.

“The Interpol-UN Special Notices make clear the common commitment of the United Nations and Interpol to fight terrorism,” said the Chairman of the UN 1267 Committee, Ambassador César Mayoral of Argentina. “They will also provide a considerable boost to the implementation of the UN-mandated sanctions on terrorists and their supporters throughout the world.”

The new Interpol-UN Security Council Special Notices reflect the growing cooperation between the two entities. Interpol officers were also recently invited to Beirut to assist the UN investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.