Analysis

UN adopts French-drafted resolution on funding terrorism

Monday 01/April/2019 - 02:57 PM

Mohamed Abdel Ghaffar

The international community has been accused of being unwilling to truly combat terrorism. However, in the wake of bloodshed and the collapse of a number of states worldwide, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted on March 28 a resolution aimed at strengthening global efforts to combat ways that terrorist groups raise funds to finance their operations.

Vladimir Voronkov (Under-Secretary-General, United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, said the resolution was reached at a critical time as terrorist attacks continue worldwide.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told France 24 that the French-drafted resolution orders all countries to ensure that their domestic laws are sufficient to prosecute and penalize those responsible for directly or indirectly financing “terrorist organizations or individual terrorists for any purpose.

United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy:

Section II, paragraph 10: “To encourage States to implement the comprehensive international standards embodied in the Forty Recommendations on Money-Laundering and Nine Special Recommendations on Terrorist Financing of the Financial Action Task Force, recognizing that States may require assistance in implementing them;”

Section III, paragraph 8: “To encourage the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the International Criminal Police Organization to enhance cooperation with States to help them to comply fully with international norms and obligations to combat money-laundering and the financing of terrorism.”