UN mulls requests to blacklist foreign extremist fighters: report

PanARMENIAN.Net - A United Nations Security Council committee is considering requests by the United States and France to blacklist more than a dozen foreign extremist fighters, fundraisers and recruiters linked to Islamist militant groups in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Tunisia and Yemen, according to Reuters.

The bid to sanction people from France, Saudi Arabia, Norway, Senegal and Kuwait coincides with the expected adoption on Wednesday, Sept 24 of a Security Council resolution to suppress foreign extremist fighters. U.S. President Barack Obama is scheduled to chair the meeting.

According to the confidential requests made to the Security Council's al Qaeda sanctions committee, Reuters said it obtained on Monday, 15 names will be designated on Tuesday afternoon if no objections are raised. The listings could also be delayed for administrative reasons if a member needs more review time.

The action by the council also coincides with Obama's call to build an international coalition to fight Islamic State militants, who have captured swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq, proclaimed a caliphate in the heart of the Middle East and urged followers to attack citizens of various countries.

Among the people being considered for UN sanctions, which include a global travel ban, asset freeze and arms embargo, is Abd al-Rahman Muhammad Mustafa al-Qaduli, an Iraqi who is a senior Islamic State leader in Syria and previously served as a deputy to al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

In all, the United States has submitted 11 names and France four, according to the documented requests.

Diplomats said the UN Security Council has agreed a U.S.-drafted resolution, scheduled to be formally adopted on Wednesday, that aims to "prevent and suppress the recruiting, organizing, transporting or equipping" of people to another country to perpetrate, plan, prepare or participate in extremist attack, Reuters said.

The text "decides all states shall ensure their domestic laws and regulations establish serious criminal offenses sufficient to provide the ability to prosecute and to penalize in a manner duly reflecting the seriousness of the offense".

The resolution generally targets foreign extremist fighters traveling to conflicts anywhere in world, but has been spurred by the rise of Islamic State and Nusra Front in Syria and Iraq.

The draft resolution is under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which makes it legally binding for the 193 UN member states and gives the Security Council authority to enforce decisions with economic sanctions or force. The draft text, however, does not mandate military force to tackle the foreign fighter issue.