(MENAFN – Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) NEW YORK, March 28 (KUNA) — The UN Security Council unanimously adopted on Thursday a comprehensive anti-terror resolution 2462 (2019), hailed by member states as a landmark step in suppressing the funding of terror groups worldwide.

“While the council has previously adopted several resolutions concerning the financing of terrorism, today’s text consolidates the various requirements into a single draft. It also expands the focus to key emerging issues, including innovative terrorist financing typologies,” Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism Vladimir Voronkov told the UN Security Council via video-teleconference from Rome Thursday.

He also welcomed the role that the resolution assigned to the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism in identifying ways to suppress terrorist financing and helping to develop national capacities to implement key priorities, he set out priorities in the field for countering the financing of terrorism.

“The office must expand its focus to include the sharing of intelligence, sectoral risk assessments and public-private partnerships to ensure that financial regulation is responsive, targeted, proportional and effective,” he stressed.

Taking a cue from today’s resolution, Voronkov said the office must also look at countering the financing of terrorism in a comprehensive manner, giving equal importance to system-wide raising of awareness, inter-agency coordination, judicial reviews and ongoing commitment of human and technological resources.

The UN official emphasized that human rights and humanitarian law should be upheld and protected.

“It is only through a comprehensive and multidimensional approach that national and international financial systems and institutions can be properly safeguarded from terrorist abuse.” He went on to emphasize the need for the office to work more closely with the Financial Action Task Force and Task Force-style regional bodies on capacity-building assistance, as well as its commitment to working with all partners, particularly the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), to coordinate capacity-building for interested Member States.

The office will use its inter-agency coordination platforms to extend the alignment of assistance and needs with such other key bodies as the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL).
He called upon member states to make national experts available to United Nations programs on countering the financing of terrorism, thereby giving beneficiary countries an opportunity to learn good practices.
He added that significant financial support is also necessary to increase the capacity of member states to prevent and detect terrorism financing.
Initiated by France, the resolution 2462 calls upon all countries to enhance the traceability and transparency of financial transactions, including assessing and addressing potential risks associated with virtual assets and as appropriate.

It demands member states to apply risk-based anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regulations to virtual asset service providers.
It also encourages states to identify effective systems to conduct risk-based monitoring or supervision of virtual asset service providers.
The resolution also urges competent national authorities, in particular financial intelligence units and intelligence services, to continue to establish effective partnerships with the private sector, including financial institutions, the financial technology industry and internet and social media companies, in particular with regards to the evolution of trends, sources and methods of the financing of terrorism.
For his part, France’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, and Council President for March Jean-Yves Le Drian, spoke in his national capacity, paying tribute to forces on the ground in Iraq and Syria that have fought the so-called Islamic State (IS or Da’esh) group and taken back territory conquered in 2014.

“Nevertheless, the greatest error is to believe that the fight against terrorism has been defeated once territorial claims have been annihilated,” he warned.
He stated that that governments are primarily responsible for ensuring the security of their citizens and must always anticipate changing threats and adapt their responses accordingly, the international community must tackle evil at the root and isolate terrorists by drying up their sources of financing.
Le Drian reminded member states about the terrorist groups’ great capacity to adapt.

“Indeed, terrorists have learned how to exploit new technologies and transform their resources,” he said.

He went on to say that though the challenge is great, “our determination must be equally great”.

That objective led the Government of France to organize the “No Money for Terror” Conference in Paris in April 2018, and to promote the adoption of an ambitious agenda to combat the financing of terrorism, he noted.

The French top diplomat praised the adoption of the resolution 2462 (2019), as a strong political act.

He, however, recalled that given the continuing threat of terrorism, the international community must build the biggest partnership possible, bringing many parties together in response to the challenge.
He appealed to member states to commit themselves to implementing all aspects of the resolution and to help countries requiring assistance in the fight.

He went on to launch an appeal to the United Nations, specifically the Office of Counter-Terrorism and CTED, to develop their capacities to combat terrorist financing.

They have the full support of France because their help is needed now more than ever, he said, appealing also to the private sector’s assistance.
He concluded by welcoming the resolution’s balance between the objectives of the fight against terrorism financing and the need for humanitarian actors to carry out their missions without impediment. (end) asf.ibi

Source: UNSC adopts landmark anti-terror financing resolution | MENAFN.COM