[Privsec] UN

[Gus Hosein]

I can't seem to verify this article with any other sources, but it is 
interesting nonetheless.

In particular:

>Finally, the U.N. council should consider restrictions on the use of the 
>Internet to lure people "onto a terrorist path," the experts said.
>
>These could range from "stemming the distribution of extremist material 
>inciting to violence" to requiring Internet service providers to verify 
>who their customers are to adding to the U.N. list any Internet firm 
>providing services "designed to promote acts of terrorism," the panel said."

I am increasingly annoyed by the UN Sec Council and its subcommittees, and 
so we should all keep a tighter eye on stuff like this, IMHO.

"U.N. terrorism panel urges lost passport crackdown
Tue February 15, 2005 10:46 AM GMT+05:30

By Irwin Arieff

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Governments should work more closely with 
Interpol to identify lost and stolen passports in order to thwart 
terrorists planning and executing attacks, U.N. experts said on Monday.

The international community must also intensify efforts to track portable 
anti-aircraft missile systems, weapons of mass destruction and commercially 
available materials that can be turned into explosives to help deter future 
operations, the experts said in a report to the U.N. Security Council.

The panel of experts was set up last year to evaluate the effectiveness of 
a U.N. program to crack down on the al Qaeda network and Afghanistan's 
former Taliban rulers.

A council resolution approved shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on 
the United States required all 191 U.N. member-nations to freeze the assets 
of any person or group suspected of ties to al Qaeda or the Taliban.

The measure also ordered governments to block suspects' travel and bar them 
from obtaining arms, funds or other resources. To help governments know who 
to look for, a council committee maintains a list of people and groups 
believed to have links either to al Qaeda or the Taliban.

The latest report by the expert panel said al Qaeda remains a moving and 
constantly evolving target, requiring governments to continuously refine 
their programs to counter the group.

The existing travel ban has failed to net any suspects, not because 
extremists do not travel but because the restrictions are too weak, the 
experts said.

'A CLEAR LINK'

Nearly 430,000 blank travel documents, including a large number of 
passports, have been stolen or lost and "law enforcement authorities have 
long identified a clear link between terrorist activities and the use of 
stolen or fraudulent travel documents," they said.

All governments should join Interpol, which keeps a database of stolen and 
lost travel documents, and register all such documents with the 
international police agency and quickly invalidate them, the experts said.

The council also should require governments to cancel any visa or residence 
permit issued to anyone on the U.N. list of terrorism suspects and either 
try them for crimes or send them home, they said.

The Security Council should also urge governments to beef up border 
controls to prevent terrorist groups from using couriers to smuggle gold, 
diamonds and other precious commodities to finance their operations, the 
panel said.

Finally, the U.N. council should consider restrictions on the use of the 
Internet to lure people "onto a terrorist path," the experts said.

These could range from "stemming the distribution of extremist material 
inciting to violence" to requiring Internet service providers to verify who 
their customers are to adding to the U.N. list any Internet firm providing 
services "designed to promote acts of terrorism," the panel said."
http://www.reuters.co.in/locales/c_newsArticle.jsp?type=worldNews&localeKey=en_IN&storyID=7628451