Security Council calls for greater UN-Interpol cooperation on sanctions

Noting that cooperation with the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) could substantially aid the work of its sanctions committees, the Security Council today called for increased cooperation between the UN and Interpol in the fight against terrorism and international crime.

By a unanimously adopted resolution, the Council said this cooperation would improve the ability of the committees and Member States to implement Security Council measures, particularly those concerning the freezing of assets, travel bans and arms embargoes.

The resolution noted that Interpol has played a constructive role in helping the Council’s 1267 Committee, which is responsible for monitoring sanctions aimed at groups and individuals associated with Al-Qaida and the Taliban, and that similar cooperation could also benefit the Council’s other sanctions committees.

The resolution stressed that since Security Council sanctions measures are often implemented under national laws, the measure would enhance the level of enforcement at the country level.

The resolution also encouraged Member States to take advantages of the tools offered by Interpol, particularly the I-24/7 global police communications system. In December, Interpol used that system to distribute the first Interpol-United Nations Security Council Special Notices for individuals targeted by UN sanctions against Al-Qaida and the Taliban to its 184 member countries.

Under that cooperation scheme, if the whereabouts of those suspects become known to police, the Interpol National Central Bureau in the country concerned will be notified immediately so that authorities can implement the relevant UN sanctions against them.