The US-sponsored resolution, hammered out after lengthy negotiations, should strengthen the current sanctions regime, making it more transparent and employing an ombudsperson to address these shortcomings.
“For the first time ever, individuals and entities seeking a delisting will have a chance to present their cases to an independent and impartial ombudsperson appointed by the Secretary General,’’ Austria’s ambassador to the UN, Thomas Mayr-Harting, said after the vote.
Austria, which currently heads the Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, said about 30 court cases have been filed by listed individuals in Europe, Pakistan, Turkey, and the United States protesting their inclusion. Mayr-Harting said 30 to 40 people still on the list are believed to be dead.
US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice hailed the resolution’s passage as a “real success,’’ adding that it “reaffirms the global consensus against Al Qaeda and the Taliban.’’
The Security Council imposed sanctions against the Taliban in November 1999 for refusing to send Osama bin Laden to the United States or a third country for trial on terrorism charges in connection with two 1998 US Embassy bombings in Africa.
The sanctions - a travel ban, arms embargo, and assets freeze - were later extended to Al Qaeda. In July 2005, the council extended the sanctions again to cover affiliates and splinter groups of Al Qaeda and the Taliban.
