|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
 |
 |
    |
|
|
|||
 |
|
||
|
|||
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
U.N. Sanctions Failing to Stop Financial Support for Al-Qaeda By Jim Wurst UNITED NATIONS — Al-Qaeda continues to evade sanctions and still receives money through a variety of channels, including charities, according to a report released yesterday by the Security Council committee monitoring the sanctions against al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and the Taliban (see GSN, Nov. 18). At the same time, the report says al-Qaeda must be seen as “more than just a loose network of like-minded Islamic extremist groups. Al-Qaeda also has to be seen as an ideology.” If it is not recognized as such, this “demonstrates a failure to recognize the true nature of the threat with which the international community has to deal,” according to the report. Speaking at a news conference yesterday, Ambassador Heraldo Munoz of Chile, the chairman of the Security Council sanctions committee, said, “We may have to consider a stronger resolution to strengthen the sanctions. … There are some voids we need to address.” The report recommends that a new resolution could give the committee some investigative powers (currently it can only monitor implementation of the sanctions), clarify states’ responsibilities to block al-Qaeda related assets and impose restrictions that charities “route their transactions through established banking systems.” Munoz said terrorists are still abusing charities. Charities are not easy to control, he said, but some charities on the sanctions list “continue to operate in some countries and this is a distressing fact.” Munoz is heading a delegation of council members, which departed last night, to countries where such operations still function, including Saudi Arabia and Italy. The report focuses on two charities on the sanctions list based in Saudi Arabia — the International Islamic Relief Organization and al-Haramain Charitable Foundation — which have branches in Western countries, including Liechtenstein. The report also details how shell companies and offshore businesses move money around the world. Two individuals on the sanctions list, Youssef Nada and Idris Nasreddin, operate shell companies in the Bahamas, Italy, Switzerland, Turkey and Liechtenstein and have not had all their assets blocked, according to the report. The council established the sanctions panel in 1999. In January, the council adopted Resolution 1455, extending the mandate of the group. The sanctions involve bans on financial transactions and travel by individuals linked to al-Qaeda and the Taliban and an arms embargo against them. The individuals and entities subject to sanctions are on a list maintained by the council. This list is the main tool the committee has in measuring the effectiveness of the sanctions. Governments are showing an inability or unwillingness to freeze or seize “tangible assets such as businesses or property,” says the report. There is “reluctance on the part of many states to recognize the presence of al-Qaeda or elements of the network within their territory. There is also a reluctance to propose individuals and entities to the committee to be listed. … This contributes to the continuing resilience of al-Qaeda.” “Although the [sanctions] list has grown in numbers, it has not kept pace with these actions, or the increased intelligence and other information available,” says the report. Some 4,000 individuals have been arrested in 102 countries for links with al-Qaeda, yet the list contains only 272 names. “This is clearly a disappointing result,” said Munoz. The report says al-Qaeda is increasing its influence in other parts of the world, especially in Southeast Asia through groups such as the Jemmah Islamiya, which is blamed for the Bali bombing in October 2002. “We are worried about the extension of al-Qaeda, not only to Asia, but to other new theaters, so in that sense it has become a truly global terrorist organization,” Munoz said. Also, according to the report, “Iraq is readily accessible to followers of al-Qaeda.” Michael Chandler, the chairman of the expert group that wrote the report, said, “The image we try to paint [in the report] is the backdrop of how the movement … is evolving and that’s the message we’re trying to get over — that we are dealing with something which is not specific to al-Qaeda and bin Laden, it has now become much more diffused, much more widespread.” He added, “That’s why it’s become people who tend to follow an ideology rather than just being a much more formal structured organization like it appeared to be two years ago.” Reflecting this view, the report focuses more on the roles played by related groups and financial fronts for al-Qaeda than it does on the core leadership of the group held responsible for a series of terrorists attacks, including the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks against the United States. Only 83 states of the 191 nations submitted reports on implementation of the sanctions as required by Resolution 1455, according to the report, and some of the nonreporting countries include those of interest for possible al-Qaeda activities, including Afghanistan, Albania, Bosnia, Egypt, Georgia, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan and Uzbekistan. “Certain states [had] little or no knowledge” about the sanctions committee, the report says. Chandler said “stigma” is discouraging governments from reporting to the committee. “Some people are concerned that if they appear to have al-Qaeda-related activities or connections within their borders, this may frighten away tourists and investments,” he said. The other two elements of the sanctions regime — the travel ban and arms embargo — are also not fully enforced, the report says. The report will be submitted to the council later this month. Munoz said he did not expect the council to take any action on a new resolution until next year.
| ||||||||||
Back to top
