UN adopts resolution to disrupt Islamic State funds

The resolution to be adopted Thursday will revamp the existing Al-Qaeda sanctions committee to elevate Islamic State as a priority.

The new resolution, which was sponsored by the US and Russian Federation, puts ISIL in the same category as Al-Qaeda, reflecting the growing threat the armed group poses, especially in the Middle East and North Africa.

The UN’s United States ambassador Samantha Power said the meeting was an unprecedented chance to bring together people with the technical abilities to track and cut off funds to “starve” IS of resources.

The Islamic State group, also known as ISIL, controls a large swath of Syria and Iraq, including oil and gas fields, though bombing campaigns by the U.S.-led coalition and ground forces have enabled Iraq to regain some territory.

Szubin, the US acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said the resolution will “fully criminalize” terror financing and is modeled along the lines of those that targeted Al-Qaeda finances after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

This is in contrast to al-Qaida, whose funding typically comes only from kidnappings for ransom and from outside donors, including charities, he said at a White House briefing on Wednesday.

“We are in a new phase of terrorism, including lone actors and small group of terrorists, like those in San Bernardino”, Obama said.

“Just as terrorist groups are innovating and diversifying; the global community must stay ahead of the curve to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism”.

The council also specifically asked states to report to on “interdictions in their territory of any oil, oil products, modular refineries, and related material being transferred to or from (Islamic State or Nusra Front)”.

Over the past month, the US government said almost 400 oil tanker trucks commissioned by terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria have been destroyed in military airstrikes.

France’s Finance Minister Michel Sapin told the council that no country is safe from ISIL attacks, the most recent in Paris and California, and that since June 2014 some 1,600 people around the world have been killed in attacks by the extremist group or groups loyal to them.

The measure also requires countries to control and monitor the flow of cash to organizations and individuals likely to commit terrorist acts.

The resolution calls on governments to ensure they have adopted laws that make the financing of IS and of foreign fighters who join its ranks a serious criminal offense.

The December 17 resolution “expresses concern about the lack of implementation” of previous resolutions targeting militants, including an “insufficient level of reporting” by states on their implementation of United Nations sanctions.

The resolution urges countries to share information about extremist groups and calls for a report within 120 days on what every country is doing to tackle the financing of the Islamic State and al-Qaida.