United Nations Security Council Resolution 1904 – Threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts

Resolution 1904 (2009)

The Security Council,

Recalling its resolutions 1267 (1999), 1333 (2000), 1363 (2001), 1373 (2001), 1390 (2002), 1452 (2002), 1455 (2003), 1526 (2004), 1566 (2004), 1617 (2005), 1624 (2005), 1699 (2006), 1730 (2006), 1735 (2006), and 1822 (2008), and the relevant statements of its President,

Reaffirming that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to peace and security and that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable regardless of their motivations, whenever and by whomsoever committed, and reiterating its unequivocal condemnation of Al-Qaida, Usama bin Laden, the Taliban and other individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with them, for ongoing and multiple criminal terrorist acts aimed at causing the deaths of innocent civilians and other victims, destruction of property and greatly undermining stability,

Reaffirming the need to combat by all means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and international law, including applicable international human rights, refugee and humanitarian law, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts, stressing in this regard the important role the United Nations plays in leading and coordinating this effort,

Expressing concern at the increase in incidents of kidnapping and hostage-taking by individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with Al-Qaida, Usama bin Laden or the Taliban with the aim of raising funds, or gaining political concessions,

Reiterating its support for the fight against illicit production and trafficking of drugs from, and chemical precursors to Afghanistan, in neighbouring countries, countries on trafficking routes, drug destination countries and precursors producing countries,

Stressing that terrorism can only be defeated by a sustained and comprehensive approach involving the active participation and collaboration of all States, and international and regional organizations to impede, impair, isolate and incapacitate the terrorist threat,

Emphasizing that sanctions are an important tool under the Charter of the United Nations in the maintenance and restoration of international peace and security, and stressing in this regard the need for robust implementation of the measures in paragraph 1 of this resolution as a significant tool in combating terrorist activity,

Urging all Member States to participate actively in maintaining and updating the list created pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999) and 1333 (2000) (“the Consolidated List”) by contributing additional information pertinent to current listings, submitting delisting requests when appropriate, and by identifying and nominating for listing additional individuals, groups, undertakings and entities which should be subject to the measures referred to in paragraph 1 of this resolution,

Taking note of challenges, both legal and otherwise, to the measures implemented by Member States under paragraph 1 of this resolution, welcoming improvements to the Committee’s procedures and the quality of the Consolidated List, and expressing its intent to continue efforts to ensure that procedures are fair and clear,

Reiterating that the measures referred to in paragraph 1 of this resolution are preventative in nature and are not reliant upon criminal standards set out under national law,

Recalling the adoption by the General Assembly of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (A/60/288) of 8 September 2006 and the creation of the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF) to ensure overall coordination and coherence in the counter-terrorism efforts of the United Nations system,

Welcoming the continuing cooperation between the Committee and INTERPOL, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, in particular on technical assistance and capacity building, and all other United Nations bodies, and encouraging further engagement with the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF) to ensure overall coordination and coherence in the counterterrorism efforts of the United Nations system,

Noting with concern the continued threat posed to international peace and security ten years after the adoption of resolution 1267 (1999) by Al-Qaida, Usama bin Laden and the Taliban, and other individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with them, and reaffirming its resolve to address all aspects of that threat,

Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,

Measures

1. Decides that all States shall take the measures as previously imposed by paragraph 4 (b) of resolution 1267 (1999), paragraph 8 (c) of resolution 1333 (2000), and paragraphs 1 and 2 of resolution 1390 (2002), with respect to Al-Qaida, Usama bin Laden and the Taliban, and other individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with them, as referred to in the list created pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999) and 1333 (2000) (“the Consolidated List”);

(a) Freeze without delay the funds and other financial assets or economic resources of these individuals, groups, undertakings and entities, including funds derived from property owned or controlled directly or indirectly, by them or by persons acting on their behalf or at their direction, and ensure that neither these nor any other funds, financial assets or economic resources are made available, directly or indirectly for such persons’ benefit, by their nationals or by persons within their territory;

(b) Prevent the entry into or transit through their territories of these individuals, provided that nothing in this paragraph shall oblige any State to deny entry or require the departure from its territories of its own nationals and this paragraph shall not apply where entry or transit is necessary for the fulfilment of a judicial process or the Committee determines on a case-by-case basis only that entry or transit is justified;

(c) Prevent the direct or indirect supply, sale, or transfer to these individuals, groups, undertakings and entities from their territories or by their nationals outside their territories, or using their flag vessels or aircraft, of arms and related materiel of all types including weapons and ammunition, military vehicles and equipment, paramilitary equipment, and spare parts for the aforementioned, and technical advice, assistance, or training related to military activities;

2. Reaffirms that acts or activities indicating that an individual, group, undertaking, or entity is associated with Al-Qaida, Usama bin Laden or the Taliban include:

(a) participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf of, or in support of;

(b) supplying, selling or transferring arms and related materiel to;

(c) recruiting for; or

3. Further reaffirms that any undertaking or entity owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by, or otherwise supporting, such an individual, group, undertaking or entity associated with Al-Qaida, Usama bin Laden or the Taliban shall be eligible for designation;

4. Confirms that the requirements in paragraph 1(a) above apply to financial and economic resources of every kind, including but not limited to those used for the provision of Internet hosting or related services, used for the support of Al-Qaida, Usama bin Laden, or the Taliban and other individuals, groups, undertakings, or entities associated with them;

5. Confirms further that the requirements in paragraph 1(a) above shall also apply to the payment of ransoms to individuals, groups, undertakings or entities on the Consolidated List;

6. Decides that Member States may permit the addition to accounts frozen pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 1 above of any payment in favour of listed individuals, groups, undertakings or entities, provided that any such payments continue to be subject to the provisions in paragraph 1 above and are frozen;

7. 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), and direct the Committee to review the procedures for exemptions as set out in the Committee’s guidelines to facilitate their use by Member States and to continue to ensure that humanitarian exemptions are granted expeditiously and transparently;

Listing

8. Encourages all Member States to submit to the Committee for inclusion on the Consolidated List names of individuals, groups, undertakings and entities participating, by any means, in the financing or support of acts or activities of Al-Qaida, Usama bin Laden or the Taliban, and other individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with them, as described in paragraph 2 of resolution 1617 (2005) and reaffirmed in paragraph 2 above, and further encouragesMember States to appoint a national contact point concerning entries on the Consolidated List;

9. Notes that such means of financing or support include but are not limited to the use of proceeds derived from illicit cultivation, production and trafficking of narcotic drugs originating particularly in Afghanistan, and their precursors;

10. Reiterates its call for continued cooperation between the Committee and the Government of Afghanistan and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), including by identifying individuals and entities participating in the financing or support of acts or activities of Al-Qaida and the Taliban as described in paragraph 30 of resolution 1806 (2008);

11. Reaffirms that, when proposing names to the Committee for inclusion on the Consolidated List, Member States shall act in accordance with paragraph 5 of resolution 1735 (2006) and paragraph 12 of resolution 1822 (2008) and provide a detailed statement of case, and decides further that the statement of case shall be releasable, upon request, except for the parts a Member State identifies as being confidential to the Committee, and may be used to develop the narrative summary of reasons for listing described in paragraph 14 below;

12. Encourages Member States proposing a new designation, as well as Member States that have proposed names for inclusion on the Consolidated List before the adoption of this resolution, to specify whether the Committee may make known, upon request from a Member State, the Member State’s status as a designating State;

13. Calls upon Member States, when proposing names to the Committee for inclusion on the Consolidated List to use the new standard form for listing, once it is adopted and placed on the Committee’s website, and requests that they provide the Committee with as much relevant information as possible on the proposed name, in particular sufficient identifying information to allow for the accurate and positive identification of individuals, groups, undertakings and entities, and directs the Committee to update, as necessary, the standard form for listing in accordance with the provisions of this resolution;

14. 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 Consolidated List, a narrative summary of reasons for listing for the corresponding entry or entries, and further directs the Committee, with the assistance of the Monitoring Team and in coordination with the relevant designating States, to continue its efforts to make accessible on the Committee’s website narrative summaries of reasons for listing for entries that were added to the Consolidated List before the date of adoption of resolution 1822 (2008);

15. Encourages Member States and relevant international organizations 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;

16. 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 designation and provide additional material for the narrative summary of reasons for listing described in paragraph 14;

17. Directs the Committee to amend its Guidelines to extend the period of time for members of the Committee to verify that names proposed for listing merit inclusion in the Consolidated List and include adequate identifying information to ensure full implementation of the measures, with exceptions, at the Committee chair’s discretion, for emergency and time-sensitive listings, and notes that listing requests may be placed on the Committee’s agenda upon request of a Committee member;

18. Decides that the Secretariat shall, after publication but within three working days after a name is added to the Consolidated List, notify the Permanent Mission of the country or countries where the individual or entity is believed to be located and, in the case of individuals, the country of which the person is a national (to the extent this information is known), in accordance with paragraph 10 of resolution 1735 (2006), and requests the Secretariat to publish on the Committee’s website all relevant publicly releasable information, including the narrative summary of reasons for listing, immediately after a name is added to the Consolidated List;

19. Reaffirms further the provisions in paragraph 17 of resolution 1822 (2008) regarding the requirement that Member States take all possible measures, in accordance with their domestic laws and practices, to notify or inform in a timely manner the listed individual or entity of the designation and to include with this notification the narrative summary of reasons for listing, a description of the effects of designation, as provided in the relevant resolutions, the Committee’s procedures for considering delisting requests, including the possibility of submitting such a request to the Ombudsperson in accordance with paragraphs 20 and 21 and annex II of this resolution, and the provisions of resolution 1452 (2002) regarding available exemptions;

Delisting/Ombudsperson

20. Decides that, when considering delisting requests, the Committee shall be assisted by an Office of the Ombudsperson, to be established for an initial period of 18 months from the date of adoption of this resolution, and requests the Secretary-General, in close consultation with the Committee, to appoint an eminent individual of high moral character, impartiality and integrity with high qualifications and experience in relevant fields, such as legal, human rights, counter-terrorism and sanctions, to be Ombudsperson, with the mandate outlined in annex II of this resolution, and further decides that the Ombudsperson shall perform these tasks in an independent and impartial manner and shall neither seek nor receive instructions from any government;

21. Decides that, after the appointment of the Ombudsperson, the Office of the Ombudsperson shall receive requests from individuals and entities seeking to be removed from the Consolidated List, in accordance with the procedures outlined in annex II of this resolution, and that, after the appointment of the Ombudsperson, the Focal Point mechanism established in resolution 1730 (2006) shall no longer receive such requests, and notes that the Focal Point shall continue to receive requests from individuals and entities seeking to be removed from other sanctions lists;

22. Directs the Committee to continue to work, in accordance with its guidelines, to consider delisting requests of Member States for the removal from the Consolidated List of members and/or associates of Al-Qaida, Usama bin Laden, or the Taliban who no longer meet the criteria established in the relevant resolutions, which shall be placed on the Committee’s agenda upon request of a member of the Committee;

23. Encourages States to submit delisting requests for individuals that are officially confirmed to be dead, particularly where no assets are identified, and for entities that 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 entities or individuals on the Consolidated List;

24. Encourages Member States, when unfreezing the assets of a deceased individual or defunct entity 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;

25. Encourages the Committee to give due consideration to the opinions of designating State(s), and State(s) of residence, nationality or incorporation when considering delisting requests, and calls on Committee members to make every effort to provide their reasons for objecting to such delisting requests;

26. Requests the Monitoring Team, upon conclusion of the review pursuant to paragraph 25 of resolution 1822 (2008), to circulate to the Committee every six months a list of individuals on the Consolidated List who are reportedly deceased, along with an assessment of relevant information such as the certification of death, and to the extent possible, the status and location of frozen assets and the names of any individuals or entities who would be in a position to receive any unfrozen assets, directs the Committee to review these listings to decide whether they remain appropriate, and encourages the Committee to remove listings of deceased individuals where credible information regarding death is available;

27. Decides that the Secretariat shall, within three working days after a name is removed from the Consolidated List, notify the Permanent Mission of the country or countries where the individual or entity is believed to be located and, in the case of individuals, the country of which the person is a national (to the extent this information is known), and demands that States receiving such notification take measures, in accordance with their domestic laws and practices, to notify or inform the concerned individual or entity of the delisting in a timely manner;

Review and maintenance of the Consolidated List

28. Encourages all Member States, in particular designating States and States of residence or nationality, to submit to the Committee additional identifying and other information, 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;

29. Welcomes the significant progress made by the Committee in its review of all names on the Consolidated List pursuant to paragraph 25 of resolution 1822 (2008), directs the Committee to complete this review by 30 June 2010, and requests that all States concerned respond to requests from the Committee for information relevant to this review no later than 1 March 2010;

30. Requests the Monitoring Team to submit a report to the Committee by 30 July 2010 on the outcome of the review described in paragraph 25 of resolution 1822 (2008) and the efforts made by the Committee, Member States and the Monitoring Team to conduct the review;

31. Requests the Monitoring Team, upon conclusion of the review described in paragraph 25 of resolution 1822 (2008), to circulate to the Committee annually a list of individuals and entities on the Consolidated List whose entries lack identifiers necessary to ensure effective implementation of the measures imposed upon them, and directs the Committee to review these listings to decide whether they remain appropriate;

32. Further directs the Committee, upon completion of the review described in paragraph 25 of resolution 1822 (2008), to conduct an annual review of all names on the Consolidated List that have not been reviewed in three or more years, in which the relevant names are circulated to the designating States and States of residence and/or citizenship, where known, pursuant to the procedures set forth in the Committee guidelines, in order to ensure the Consolidated List is as updated and accurate as possible and to confirm that listing remains appropriate, and notes that the Committee’s consideration of a delisting request after the date of adoption of this resolution, pursuant to the procedures set out in annex II of this resolution, should be considered equivalent to a review of that listing; Measures implementation

33. Reiterates the importance of all States identifying, and if necessary introducing, adequate procedures to implement fully all aspects of the measures described in paragraph 1 above;

34. Encourages the Committee to continue to ensure that fair and clear procedures exist for placing individuals and entities on the Consolidated List and for removing them as well as for granting humanitarian exemptions, and directs the Committee to keep its guidelines under active review in support of these objectives;

35. Directs the Committee, as a matter of priority, to review its guidelines with respect to the provisions of this resolution, in particular paragraphs 7, 13, 14, 17, 18, 22, 23, 34, and 41;

36. Encourages Member States and relevant international organizations to send representatives to meet the Committee for more in-depth discussion of relevant issues and welcomes voluntary briefings from interested Member States on their efforts to implement the measures referred to in paragraph 1 above, including particular challenges that hinder full implementation of the measures;

37. 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;

38. 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 Chairman, in periodic reports to the Council pursuant to paragraph 46 below, to provide progress reports on the Committee’s work on this issue;

39. 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;

40. 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;

41. Directs the Committee to amend its guidelines to ensure that no matter is left pending before the Committee for a period longer than six months, unless the Committee determines on a case-by-case basis that extraordinary circumstances require additional time for consideration, and further directs any Committee member that has requested more time to consider a proposal to provide updates after three months of their progress in resolving all pending matters;

42. Directs the Committee to conduct a comprehensive review of all issues pending before the Committee as of the date of adoption of this resolution, and further urges the Committee and its members to resolve all such pending issues, to the extent possible, by 31 December 2010;

Coordination and outreach

43. Reiterates the need to enhance ongoing cooperation among the Committee, the Counter Terrorism Committee (CTC) and the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004), as well as their respective groups of experts, including through, as appropriate, enhanced information-sharing, coordination on visits to countries within their respective mandates, on facilitating and monitoring technical assistance, on relations with international and regional organizations and agencies and on other issues of relevance to all three committees, expresses its intention to provide guidance to the committees on areas of common interest in order better to coordinate their efforts and facilitate such cooperation, and requests the Secretary-General to make the necessary arrangements for the groups to be co-located as soon as possible;

44. Encourages the Monitoring Team and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, to continue their joint activities, in cooperation with 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;

45. Requests the Committee to consider, where and when appropriate, visits to selected countries by the Chairman 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) and 1822 (2008);

46. Requests the Committee to report orally, through its Chairman, at least every 180 days 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 Chairmen of CTC and the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004), including briefings for all interested Member States;

Monitoring Team

47. Decides, in order to assist the Committee in fulfilling its mandate, as well as to support the Ombudsperson, to extend the mandate of the current New York-based Monitoring Team, established pursuant to paragraph 7 of resolution 1526 (2004), for a further period of 18 months, under the direction of the Committee with the responsibilities outlined in annex 1, and requests the Secretary-General to make the necessary arrangements to this effect;

Reviews

48. Decides to review the measures described in paragraph 1 above with a view to their possible further strengthening in 18 months, or sooner if necessary;

49. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.

Adopted by the Security Council at its 6247th meeting, on 17 December 2009.