Statement by Deputy Permanent Representative Anna Evstigneeva at a Joint Briefing by Chairs of UNSC Committees 1267/1989/2253, 1373, and 1540
Mr. President,
We thank the Chairs of the three Security Council Committees for their briefings on the work carried out by the UNSC subsidiary bodies under their chairmanship.
We welcome the cooperation between 1267/1989/2253 Committee and Committees 1373 and 1540 within their mandates and in strict accordance with the relevant UNSC resolutions. Each of these subsidiary bodies performs exceedingly important objectives in the context of facilitating the Security Council's efforts in counter-terrorism and non-proliferation.
Mr. President,
We commend the work of the 1267/1989/2253 Committee concerning ISIL and Al-Qaida. We are convinced that this is one of the most effective mechanisms at the disposal of the Council to address counterterrorism. We extend gratitude to the Danish chairmanship of the Committee for their apt stewardship and commitment to finding constructive solutions to various issues.
The paramount priority remains unchanged – it is the effective implementation of UNSC resolutions in line with counter-terrorism sanctions regime against ISIL/Al-Qaida established pursuant to resolution 1267.
The pertinency and significance of the work of the 1267 Committee has never spawned doubts, especially given the nature of contemporary terrorist threats posed by ISIL, Al-Qaida and the affiliates and by foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) in the Middle East, Central, South and South-East Asia as well as in Africa. We take note of the growing rivalry between Al-Qaeda and ISIL over sources of funding and access to weapons, media resources, and new recruits, including high-tech specialists.
The above-mentioned groups have a wide range of tools at their disposal to finance their activities, they are constantly searching for new financial sources, continuously finetuning the existing ones, and looking for ways of strengthening their logistical basis. The fighters are leveraging the Internet to raise funds and perform financial operations, which allows them to remain anonymous when carrying out transactions. They transfer funds using bank accounts and cards; they use various digital platforms, “electronic wallets,” and the “hawala” system with its extensive network of guarantors.
We continue to be disquieted by the persistent presence of the ISIL-Khorasan terrorist group in Afghanistan. We take note of the efforts undertaken by the Afghan authorities, but we see that these measures are, alas, insufficient. Terrorists are steadily scaling up their influence in the country and deliberately fomenting tensions in an effort to establish themselves as an alternative force and undermine stability both in Afghanistan and the region as a whole. The fighters themselves confirm that the terrorist group is being financed from abroad and that they have FTFs within their ranks, including those who have gained battlefield experience in Syria and Iraq. Given the quantity of weapons abandoned by Western troops in the country, the threat of these weapons falling into the hands of terrorists and spreading in the region is becoming entirely real. There is a clear risks of terrorist activity spilling over to Central Asia and beyond. In this regard, there is a need to adopt comprehensive measures to combat terrorism and dismantle all terrorist groups, as well as to prevent the use of Afghan territory for terrorist purposes, including against other States.
We are closely monitoring terrorist threats in a number of African countries. Local terrorist cells largely tend to exploit chronic socio-economic problems, which were triggered by the neo-colonialist policies of Western countries. The focus remains on the situation in the Sahara-Sahel region. Under current difficult circumstances, the countries of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) continue to step up their concerted efforts to counter the terrorist threat. However, we must bear in mind that the current situation is a direct result of the West's disastrous intervention in Libya in 2011. The countries of the region are indeed combatting terrorist challenges and threats, but they need genuine assistance from the international community without hidden agendas and double standards. The FTFs who were evicted from Sahel and ended up of the board are now successfully finding employment in Sudan.
There is a persistent threat posed by FTFs who have gained battlefield experience in the Middle East and are actively moving to their countries of origin or hotspots. In this context, we deem it necessary to continue to maintain a laser focus on to the issue of FTFs who are included in anti-terrorism sanctions lists in order to prevent and counter their criminal activity as well as to ensure the inevitable punishment.
We support the professionalism of the 1267 Committee Monitoring Team; it makes a significant contribution to the work of the Committee. We call upon all states to develop constructive cooperation with it. We trust that the reports of the Monitoring Team will continue to be objective and rooted in verified information sources.
A major foundation for the study and analysis of contemporary terrorist threats is country visits by the Team. There is a need to continue the practice of visits by specialized experts to countries that are waging armed confrontation with terrorist groups, as well as to those countries that are directly facing terrorist activity.
Mr. President,
The work of the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) this year cannot be called effective. We have not managed to make up for gaps of previous years, namely we never held open briefings on topical issues that were previously approved by this subsidiary body. There is no agreement on the list of proposals for 2025 assessment visits. The number of CTC plenary meetings has been significantly reduced. Moreover, it is evident that against the backdrop of the persistent terrorist threat, with effective countermeasures becoming a priority for such regions as Africa, the Security Council needs to step up its efforts. There is a need for us to send regular messages that we are “keeping our finger on the pulse” and stand ready to jointly respond to contemporary challenges and threats.
It is important to remember that the CTC's efforts need to be focused on monitoring the implementation of relevant UNSC resolutions by States. We support the trend towards prioritizing visits on behalf of the CTC to the most vulnerable regions, first and foremost in Africa. Yet, we also understand that member states themselves can benefit from establishing constructive cooperation, including when it comes to conducting assessment visits, providing the necessary assistance to the CTC Executive Directorate (CTED), as well as in terms of timely responses to draft reports following visits for approval by the Committee, and Committee briefings on successes and obstacles in implementing the recommendations contained in the reports.
We insist that capacity-building projects and programs planned and implemented by UN structures, primarily by the Office of Counterterrorism, should be based on the identified needs of Member States in terms of technical assistance and their willingness to receive such assistance.
We also wish to thank CTED and personally Ms. Natalia Gherman for fulfilling the mandate of the Executive Directorate, which we intend to approve by the close of this year.
Mr. President,
The Russian Federation views UN Security Council Resolution 1540 as a global platform for cooperation among all UN Member States in order to erect effective national barriers to prevent materials related to weapons of mass destruction from falling into the hands of non-state actors. There is an important need to safeguard the preventive non-proliferation nature of the resolution and to keep the work of the 1540 Committee within the confines of the existing mandate that was agreed upon and is limited to monitoring the observance of the resolution and coordinating efforts to deliver technical assistance to States (at their request) in the implementation of this resolution.
We will continue to resolutely reject any attempts to expand these confines, including vesting the Committee with oversight, control, and attributive functions. It is important to bear in mind that the Committee's Group of Experts operates exclusively “under the wing” of this UNSC subsidiary body and is one of the elements of its support structure.
At the same time, we would like to recall the clear division between the activities of the 1540 Committee and other subsidiary bodies under discussion today. The 1540 Committee is tasked with prevention and monitoring. Unlike the 1267/1989/2253 and 1373 Committees, its mandate does not include counter-terrorism capabilities, such as identifying the relevant threats responding to them. Its activities are focused on non-proliferation objectives. Cooperation with the other two Committees, in accordance with the specialized Security Council resolutions, and boil down to information exchange and coordination in planning and conducting country visits.
Russia is committed to Security Council resolution 1540 and will continue to champion its full implementation by all countries. Our country remains open to constructive cooperation with a view to promptly and effectively resolving both substantive and organizational issues facing the 1540 Committee.
Thank you.
