Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations

Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations

Statement by Mr. Evgeniy Zagaynov, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, at the Security Council on briefings by Chair of subsidiary bodies of the Security Council

 We are grateful to the Chairs of the Security Council Committees for their detailed briefings on counter-terrorism activities.

To a great extent, the performance of Security Council subsidiary bodies determine the credibility and effectiveness of the Security Council as the key coordinating platform in international counter-terrorism cooperation. In recent years, the terrorist threat has indeed become global. The swell in the radicalization of public opinion, and in spite of the efforts of the international community, has not yet been curbed. The envoys of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, Al-Qaida, Al-Nusra and other terrorist organizations continue to recruit fighters in many regions of the  world, flooding the Internet and other channels of mass communication with their propaganda. Youth and socially bereft groups of society are in the line of fire. 

Exactly one year ago, on 11 May 2016, the Council, under the presidency of Egypt, held an important debate (see S/PV.7690) on the matter of countering terrorist propaganda. Building on the outcomes of that meeting, and in accordance with a chairman’s statement adopted by the Counter-Terrorism Committee a few days ago, a comprehensive international framework has been developed on the matter. We believe that it is a promising basis for the further activity of the Committee and its Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate. We hope that the document will be adopted swiftly as a Security Council resolution, a draft of which was proposed by the delegation of Egypt. However, in the current context, we are convinced that it is high time to strengthen the legal and sanctions toolkit in combating the narrative of terrorism.

We advocate the same approach with respect to countering financing for terrorism. The results of the December special meeting of the Counter-Terrorism Committee on the matter demonstrated that resolutions 2199 (2015) and 2253 (2015) are not being implemented fully or by all States. That type of situation must be addressed immediately. The current regime of the Council, in particular in combating the financing and material support for terrorists, requires rigorous compliance and strengthening. We are grateful to the Chair of the Counter-Terrorism Committee, Mr. Aboulatta, for his able steering of the Committee. Over the past month, as before, the Counter-Terrorism Committee has been drawing on expert support and on the work of the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate, which continues to play an important role in addressing the multidimensional tasks of countering terrorism facing the Committee and Security Council as a whole.

We fully share the view that the main thrust of the Committee’s activities and its Executive Directorate should be assessing States’ implementation of resolutions 1373 (2001), 1624 (2005) and 2178 (2014). In this regard, we have seen significant progress, particularly in the growing number of monitoring visits. However, there is a need for clear delineation of priorities, focusing on States that are at highest risk for terrorism in line with Committee-approved classifications.

We note the usefulness of trips to Afghanistan in that regard. Visits to Central Asian States are currently the last stage of the cycle. Underestimating the threat hanging over the region could lead to the most dangerous consequences. We think that in the work in Central Asian countries there should be integration of the broad experience and ideas of such regional organizations as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and the Eurasian Group on Combating Money-Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism.

The Committee established pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015) on sanctions against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Al-Qaida is the Security Council’s most important counter-terrorism mechanism. We pay due tribute to Ambassador Kairat Umarov’s able leadership of the Committee. We think the sanctions list should appropriately reflect the highly active and everevolving terrorist threat. In this context, we support the proposal for Member States to list new individuals and entities. The Committee should consider the relevant requests swiftly and, most importantly, without politicization. Also important is increasing the effectiveness of sanctions mechanisms, which hinges on States’ compliance with their international obligations in this field. Unfortunately, today problems remain on this score.

The powers of the Ombudsman of the Committee established pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015) have been set forth in resolution 2253 (2015). We think them most appropriate. However, unfortunately, the practical activities of this institution do not always address mandated tasks and are subject to increasing criticism. Often, we see excessively focused and short-sighted approaches, ignoring the views of interested States. We support the work of the Monitoring Team, whose reports are a major linchpin of the work of the Committee. We call upon Member States to closely cooperate with experts of the Team. Yet we do trust that its reports will be as objective as possible and rely solely on trusted sources of information.

With regard to the work of the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004), we should first and foremost like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Ambassador Sacha Sergio Llorentty Solíz for his deft steering of the Committee and for his contribution to its activities. We also thank the Committee’s group of experts for the advisory support provided with respect to components of weapons of mass destruction and expert control.

We are essentially pleased with the work of the 1540 Committee, which is a solid buffer against components of weapons of mass destruction falling into the hands of non-State actors, including terrorists. The Committee continues its effective work in assisting countries in carrying out the provisions of the resolution. There are very few States left that have yet to present their national reports. We think it would be justified to hold official meetings of the Committee more regularly. This year, a far-reaching programme, stemming from the conclusions of the 2016 comprehensive review and the resulting resolution 2325 (2016), is planned.

In the light of the unabated terrorist activity in Syria and Iraq from ISIL and other terrorist groups that have acquired technology for the production of chemical weapons and actively use them, resolution 1540 (2004) is more relevant than ever. Our idea is that the 1540 Committee should continue its cooperation with the other Security Council counter-terrorism committees on this matter in the framework of its mandate.

Violations of resolution 1540 (2004) are inadmissible. Information on non-State actors gaining access to chemical weapons requires thorough investigation and response from the Security Council. There is such an urgent need to combat acts of terrorism that the toolkit offered by resolution 1540 (2004), while carrying out an important role, just like the toolkit offered by other targeted resolutions, is simply not enough. What we need today are global and comprehensive approaches. We are ready to make this happen.

In conclusion, we would again like to underscore our interest in strengthening the weapons of mass destruction non-proliferation regime and our readiness to spare no effort here, drawing upon close cooperation with regional and international partners.