UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations (UN) hailed a new Security Councilresolution adopted on Thursday as a landmark step in suppressing thefunding of terror groups worldwide.
Speaking via video-link from Rome where he has been meeting specialistItalian law enforcement officials to discuss building closer ties to tacklethe problem, the UN’s counter-terrorism chief, Vladimir Voronkov, said thatthe adoption comes at a “critical time,” with recent attacks demonstratingthat terror groups continue to have access to both legal and illegalsources of funding.
Underscoring the necessity for strong collaboration and targeted efforts,in order to achieve “concrete results” in the fight against terrorism andterrorist financing, Voronkov said that Resolution 2462 on Countering theFinancing of Terrorism, pulls together previous resolutions to create aconsolidated document that also covers several key emerging issues.
The resolution calls for the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) – setup in 2017 to strengthen the Organization’s ability to implement globalcounter-terrorism strategy – to play a leading role in identifying ways tosuppress terrorist financing.
Voronkov identified three priorities. The first concerns expanding thefocus of the UNOCT to cover intelligence sharing, risk assessments andpublic-private partnerships; the second points to system-wideawareness-raising and the development of a comprehensive approach to theproblem.
The UNOCT’s third priority is to work closely with the Financial ActionTask Force, an inter-governmental body which sets standards for combatingmoney laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to theintegrity of the international finance system; and regional regulators.
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Marshall Billingslea, President of the Financial Action Task Force, andMercy Buku, an expert in the countering of terrorist financing, alsobriefed the Security Council on the subject.
Billingslea welcomed the fact that the new resolution calls on States to domore to prevent ransom payments to terrorists, which, he said, incentivizesthem to continue using kidnapping as an important revenue stream.
He also noted that, currently, two-thirds of States are not effectivelyprosecuting terrorist financing, which extends well beyond the banking andfinancing sectors, to include construction, drug trafficking and even theused car trade.
Buku, speaking via video-link from Nairobi, where, she said, theconsequences of recent terror attacks are fresh in the minds of citizens,hailed the adoption of the resolution as “timely” in promoting the fightagainst terrorism, terrorist financing and money-laundering, but pointedout that the fight must not adversely affect financial inclusioninitiatives, that enable access to banking services, and seek to reducepoverty and inequality.
