UNSC Seeks to Choke off Millions from ISIL Funds

Thursday, 12 February 2015

UNSC Seeks to Choke off Millions from ISIL Funds

Al manar

The UN Security Council is set on Thursday to adopt a resolution aimed at choking off millions of dollars in earnings from oil sales, antiquities trafficking and ransom payments to the ISIL terrorist group.

Russia drafted the first outline of the measure, which reaffirms the council's resolve to confront the threat posed by the terrorists who overran parts of Syria and Iraq nearly a year ago.

The resolution calls for sanctions against individuals and entities that trade in oil with ISIL and Al-Qaeda affiliates such as the Al-Nusra Front in Syria.

The measure urges all 193 countries of the United Nations to take "appropriate steps" to prevent the trade in cultural property from Iraq and Syria and directs the UN cultural agency UNESCO to help put in place a ban.

It also reminds governments worldwide that they must "prevent terrorists from benefiting directly or indirectly from ransom payments or political concessions" to secure the release of hostages.

That provision was directed at European governments which have found ways to circumvent the ban on paying ransoms to win the release of captive nationals.

The resolution builds on other measures adopted by the council to clamp down on ISIL revenue streams and combines them into a single effort to hit at militant financing.

Drafted under chapter seven of the UN charter, the resolution can be enforced through sanctions or use of force, even though it does not authorize military force.

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