UN resolution aims to cut IS cash flow

HOPES FOR A SECURITY COUNCIL DRAFT BY DEC 17

WASHINGTON: The United States and Russia are negotiating a new resolution at the United Nations Security Council intended to strengthen international efforts to cut off revenues that the Islamic State raises to govern territory and spread its ideology.

The US, as the rotating president of the Security Council, is pressing to adopt the resolution on Dec 17, which some finance ministers from the 15 members of the council will attend. The new resolution against the IS is based on one first passed in 1999 to target financial flows to al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. A similar measure was passed in February, directed at the IS, but Russia has complained it is routinely flouted.

Russia’s ambassador, Vitaly I Churkin, said Moscow wanted the new measure to include a provision requiring the secretary-general’s office to report on violators. “We decided to do a joint draft to tighten the screws on those who trade with ISIL,” Mr Churkin said, referring to the IS, also known as ISIS and Daesh. He added the measure would “toughen the stance of the international community on our fight against terrorists”.

In addition to a steady trade in oil, the group extracts money from people in the territory it controls by imposing taxes, fees and penalties on activities from business to looting antiquities. It also relies on money transfers in and out of Syria and Iraq — flows the new resolution seeks to halt.

The IS raises more than a billion US dollars a year (35.9 billion baht), to fund its fighters and provide basic services in its territories in Syria and Iraq. It is arguably the wealthiest terrorist organisation in the world.

The IS’ finances divide countries involved in the conflict in Syria and Iraq, but US officials and diplomats said there was a growing consensus more needed to be done.

US Treasury Secretary Jacob J Lew will preside over the New York meeting. It is the first Security Council meeting with finance ministers and officials have expressed hope the draft resolution will be adopted by then. “Cutting ISIL off from the international financial system and disrupting its financing are critical to effectively combating this violent terrorist group,” Mr Lew said.

The draft resolution specifically cites the IS, which Russia has been pressing for since late September, while insisting any efforts against the IS be done with the consent of the Syrian government. But such a provision is unlikely to be in the draft because it would not win the support of countries on the council.

The UN already maintains a list of people and organisations that financially support al-Qaeda, the Taliban and other terrorist groups, including the IS. Those designations require nations to block financial transfers and prosecute violations, but enforcement is inconsistent. There is also a resolution that imposes sanctions on those who help the banned terrorist organisation produce and smuggle oil out of Syria.

President Vladimir Putin of Russia has accused Turkey of profiting from a lucrative trade in oil with the IS in Syria, an accusation Turkey and the US have denied.