Security Council Resolution 2161 (2014) [on Threats to International Peace and Security Caused by Terrorist Acts by Al-Qaida]

Encourages Member States to make use of the provisions regarding available exemptions to the measures in paragraph 1 (a) above, set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 of resolution 1452 (2002), as amended by resolution 1735 (2006), confirms that exemptions to the travel ban must be submitted by Member States, individuals or the Ombudsperson, as appropriate, including when listed individuals travel for the purpose of fulfilling religious obligations, and notes that the Focal Point mechanism established in resolution 1730 (2006) may receive exemption requests submitted by, or on behalf of, an individual, group, undertaking or entity on the Al-Qaida Sanctions List, or by the legal representative or estate of such individual, group, undertaking or entity, for Committee consideration, as described in paragraph 62 below;

Strongly urges Member States to apply the elements in FATF’s Interpretive Note to Recommendation 6, and to take note of, inter alia, related best practices for effective implementation of targeted financial sanctions related to terrorism and terrorist financing, and takes note of the need to have appropriate legal authorities and procedures to apply and enforce targeted financial sanctions that are not conditional upon the existence of criminal proceedings, and to apply an evidentiary standard of proof of “reasonable grounds” or “reasonable basis”, as well as the ability to collect or solicit as much information as possible from all relevant sources;

Calls upon Member States to move vigorously and decisively to cut the flows of funds and other financial assets and economic resources to individuals and entities on the Al-Qaida Sanctions List, as required by paragraph 1 (a), and taking into account relevant FATF Recommendations and international standards designed to prevent the abuse of non-profit organizations, informal/alternative remittance systems and the physical trans-border movement of currency, while working to mitigate the impact on legitimate activities through these mediums;

Urges Member States to promote awareness of the Al-Qaida Sanctions List as widely as possible, including to relevant domestic agencies, the private sector and the general public to ensure effective implementation of the measures in paragraph 1; and encourages Member States to urge that their respective company, property and other relevant public and private registries regularly screen their available databases, including but not limited to those with legal and/or beneficial ownership information, against the Al-Qaida Sanctions List;

Encourages Member States, including through their permanent missions, and relevant international organizations to meet the Committee for in-depth discussion on any relevant issues;

Urges all Member States, in their implementation of the measures set out in paragraph 1 above, to ensure that fraudulent, counterfeit, stolen and lost passports and other travel documents are invalidated and removed from circulation, in accordance with domestic laws and practices, as soon as possible, and to share information on those documents with other Member States through the INTERPOL database;

Encourages Member States to share, in accordance with their domestic laws and practices, with the private sector information in their national databases related to fraudulent, counterfeit, stolen and lost identity or travel documents pertaining to their own jurisdictions, and, if a listed party is found to be using a false identity including to secure credit or fraudulent travel documents, to provide the Committee with information in this regard;

Encourages Member States that issue travel documents to listed individuals to note, as appropriate, that the bearer is subject to the travel ban and corresponding exemption procedures;

Encourages Member States to consult the Al-Qaida Sanctions List when considering whether to grant travel visa applications, for the purpose of effectively implementing the travel ban;

Encourages Member States to exchange information expeditiously with other Member States, in particular states of origin, destination and transit, when they detect the travel of individuals on the Al-Qaida Sanctions List;

Encourages designating States to inform the Monitoring Team whether a national court or other legal authority has reviewed a listed party’s case and whether any judicial proceedings have begun, and to include any other relevant information when it submits its standard form for listing;

Encourages all Member States to designate national focal points in charge of liaising with the Committee and the Monitoring Team on issues related to the implementation of the measures described in paragraph 1 above and the assessment of the threat from Al-Qaida and individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with it;

Encourages all Member States to report to the Committee on obstacles to the implementation of the measures described in paragraph 1 above, with a view to facilitating technical assistance;

Directs the Committee to continue to ensure that fair and clear procedures exist for placing individuals, groups, undertakings and entities on the Al-Qaida Sanctions List and for removing them as well as for granting exemptions per resolution 1452 (2002), and directs the Committee to keep its guidelines under active review in support of these objectives;

Directs the Committee, as a matter of priority, to review its guidelines with respect to the provisions of this resolution, in particular paragraphs 13, 14, 18, 19, 22, 34, 39, 44, 46, 51, 63, 64, 66 and 67;

Requests the Committee to report to the Council on its findings regarding Member States’ implementation efforts, and identify and recommend steps necessary to improve implementation;

Directs the Committee to identify possible cases of non-compliance with the measures pursuant to paragraph 1 above and to determine the appropriate course of action on each case, and requests the Chair, in periodic reports to the Council pursuant to paragraph 72 below, to provide progress reports on the Committee’s work on this issue;

Requests the Committee to facilitate, through the Monitoring Team or specialized United Nations agencies, assistance on capacity-building for enhancing implementation of the measures, upon request by Member States;

Encourages all Member States to submit to the Committee for inclusion on the Al-Qaida Sanctions List names of individuals, groups, undertakings and entities participating, by any means, in the financing or support of acts or activities of Al-Qaida, and other individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with it;

Encourages Member States to submit, where available and in accordance with their national legislation, photographs and other biometric data of individuals for inclusion in INTERPOL-United Nations Security Council Special Notices;

Directs the Committee to update, as necessary, the standard form for listing in accordance with the provisions of this resolution; and further directs the Monitoring Team to report to the Committee on further steps that could be taken to improve the quality of the Al-Qaida Sanctions List, including by improving identifying information, as well as steps to ensure that INTERPOL-UN Security Council Special Notices exist for all listed individuals, groups, undertakings, and entities;

Directs the Committee, with the assistance of the Monitoring Team and in coordination with the relevant designating States, to make accessible on the Committee’s website, at the same time a name is added to the Al-Qaida Sanctions List, a narrative summary of reasons for listing the corresponding entry;

Encourages Member States and relevant international organizations and bodies to inform the Committee of any relevant court decisions and proceedings so that the Committee can consider them when it reviews a corresponding listing or updates a narrative summary of reasons for listing;

Calls upon all members of the Committee and the Monitoring Team to share with the Committee any information they may have available regarding a listing request from a Member State so that this information may help inform the Committee’s decision on listing and provide additional material for the narrative summary of reasons for listing described in paragraph 36;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue to strengthen the capacity of the Office of the Ombudsperson by providing necessary resources, including for translation services, as appropriate, to ensure its continued ability to carry out its mandate in an independent, effective and timely manner;

Strongly urges Member States to provide all relevant information to the Ombudsperson, including any relevant confidential information, where appropriate, encourages Member States to provide relevant information in a timely manner, welcomes those national arrangements entered into by Member States with the Office of the Ombudsperson to facilitate the sharing of confidential information, encourages Member States’ further cooperation in this regard, including by concluding arrangements with the Office of the Ombudsperson for the sharing of such information, and confirms that the Ombudsperson must comply with any confidentiality restrictions that are placed on such information by Member States providing it;

Requests that Member States and relevant international organizations and bodies encourage individuals and entities that are considering challenging or are already in the process of challenging their listing through national and regional courts to seek removal from the Al-Qaida Sanctions List by submitting delisting petitions to the Office of the Ombudsperson;

Strongly urges designating States to allow the Ombudsperson to reveal their identities as designating States to those listed individuals and entities that have submitted delisting petitions to the Ombudsperson;

Directs the Committee to continue to work, in accordance with its guidelines, to consider delisting requests of Member States for the removal from the Al-Qaida Sanctions List of individuals, groups, undertakings and entities that are alleged to no longer meet the criteria established in the relevant resolutions, and set out in paragraph 2 of the present resolution, and strongly urges Member States to provide reasons for submitting their delisting requests;

Encourages States to submit delisting requests for individuals that are officially confirmed to be dead, particularly where no assets are identified, and for entities reported or confirmed to have ceased to exist, while at the same time taking all reasonable measures to ensure that the assets that had belonged to these individuals or entities have not been or will not be transferred or distributed to other individuals, groups, undertakings and entities on the Al-Qaida Sanctions List or any other Security Council sanctions list;

Encourages Member States, when unfreezing the assets of a deceased individual or an entity that is reported or confirmed to have ceased to exist as a result of a delisting, to recall the obligations set forth in resolution 1373 (2001) and, particularly, to prevent unfrozen assets from being used for terrorist purposes;

Calls upon the Committee when considering delisting requests to give due consideration to the opinions of designating State(s), State(s) of residence, nationality, location or incorporation, and other relevant States as determined by the Committee, directs Committee members to provide their reasons for objecting to delisting requests at the time the request is objected to, and calls upon the Committee to provide reasons to relevant Member States and national and regional courts and bodies, upon request and where appropriate;

Encourages all Member States, including designating States and States of residence, nationality, location or incorporation to provide all information to the Committee relevant to the Committee’s review of delisting petitions, and to meet with the Committee, if requested, to convey their views on delisting requests, and further encourages the Committee, where appropriate, to meet with representatives of national or regional organizations and bodies that have relevant information on delisting petitions;

Directs the Committee, with the assistance of the Monitoring Team and in consultation with relevant States, to respond, through the Focal Point, to communications referred to in paragraph 63 (b), as may be appropriate, within 60 days;

Encourages all Member States, in particular designating States and States of residence, nationality, location or incorporation, to submit to the Committee additional identifying and other information, including where possible and in accordance with their national legislation, photographs and other biometric data of individuals along with supporting documentation, on listed individuals, groups, undertakings and entities, including updates on the operating status of listed entities, groups and undertakings, the movement, incarceration or death of listed individuals and other significant events, as such information becomes available;

Requests the Monitoring Team to circulate to the Committee every twelve months a list compiled in consultation with the respective designating States and States of residence, nationality, location or incorporation, where known, of:

Directs the Committee to review whether these listings remain appropriate, and further directs the Committee to remove listings if it decides they are no longer appropriate;

Directs the Committee to continue to cooperate with other relevant Security Council Sanctions Committees, in particular that established pursuant to resolution 1988 (2011);

Encourages the Monitoring Team and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, to continue their joint activities, in cooperation with the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED) and 1540 Committee experts to assist Member States in their efforts to comply with their obligations under the relevant resolutions, including through organizing regional and subregional workshops;

Requests the Committee to consider, where and when appropriate, visits to selected countries by the Chair and/or Committee members to enhance the full and effective implementation of the measures referred to in paragraph 1 above, with a view to encouraging States to comply fully with this resolution and resolutions 1267 (1999), 1333 (2000), 1390 (2002), 1455 (2003), 1526 (2004), 1617 (2005), 1735 (2006), 1822 (2008), 1904 (2009) 1989 (2011), 2082 (2012), 2083 (2012), and 2133 (2014);

Requests the Committee to report orally, through its Chair, at least once per year, to the Council on the state of the overall work of the Committee and the Monitoring Team, and, as appropriate, in conjunction with the reports by the Chairs of CTC and the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004), expresses its intention to hold informal consultations at least once per year on the work of the Committee, on the basis of reports from the Chair to the Council, and further requests the Chair to hold periodic briefings for all interested Member States;

Directs the Monitoring Team to identify, gather information on, and keep the Committee informed of instances and common patterns of non-compliance with the measures imposed in this resolution, as well as to facilitate, upon request by Member States, assistance on capacity-building, requests the Monitoring Team to work closely with State(s) of residence, nationality, location or incorporation, designating States, other relevant States, and relevant United Nations Missions, and further directs the Monitoring Team to provide recommendations to the Committee on actions taken to respond to non-compliance;

Directs the Committee, with the assistance of its Monitoring Team, to hold special meetings on important thematic or regional topics and Member States’ capacity challenges, in consultation, as appropriate, with the Counter Terrorism Committee and CTED, CTITF, and with the Financial Action Task Force to identify and prioritize areas for the provision of technical assistance to enable more effective implementation by Member States;