Preamble
The preamble initiates by recalling the organization’s previous work on resolutions that deal with international terrorism and its threat in Afghanistan and specially S/RES/1974 (2011) that extended the mission in the country. It also reaffirms that the situation in Afghanistan is still a threat to international peace and security, mainly when it comes to the ongoing violent and terrorist activities. As in many other UN resolutions that deal with Chapter VII, the document reaffirms its commitment to the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national unity of the country. It points out the importance of a comprehensive political process to construct a stable country, while acknowledging that there is no purely military solution to stabilize the nation. In this regard, they show confidence in the national reconciliation process as consecutive agreements are being built.
Among the clauses there is a recognition that the security situation in the country has evolved and that that some of the Taliban members have rejected the terrorist ideology of Al-Qaeda and support a peaceful resolution to the conflict. The situation is still a threat to international peace and security while there is need to combat this threat by all means possible that are enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. In this regard, there is a call for reconciliation including the renunciation of violence, or international terrorist organizations and respecting the Afghan Constitution. There is a stress for the acceptance of the Afghan government’s offer of reconciliation and for that the local government is requesting that the Security Council to remove some names from the sanctions list to further the national reconciliation process.
The preamble also stress the importance of the results of a consultative peace process that represented all Afghan ethnic and religious groups and other local importance names as well as the establishment of the High Peace Council that perform outreach efforts within and outside the country. The document also stress the central and impartial role that the United Nations believe to be playing to promote peace and also appreciates the efforts of the Secretary-General and other around him that work in Afghanistan.
The resolution also reiterates the support for the fight against illicit production and trafficking of drugs and chemical produces related to them and also expresses the need to ensure that the sanctions regime be effective to support the ongoing work of the government against the insurgents. It also reaffirms the importance of international support for Afghan-led reconciliation efforts and expresses concerns with kidnapping and hostage-taking efforts that insurgents and utilizing to raise funds. The resolution, mainly because it relates to sanctions, is acting under Chapter VII of the Charter.
Operative Clauses
The operative clauses initiate with a discussion of the measures that all States should take regarding individuals and entities associated with the Taliban under a Consolidated List of the Committee that emerged from S/RES/1267 (1999) and S/RES/1333 (2000). The measures are freezing of financial assets, prevention of entry of those in their territories and prevention of supply of arms and related material to those individuals.There is the addition of activities that will make an individual or entity to be eligible to sanctions, which are participating in the financing, planning and facilitating acts of terror; supplying arms or related material; recruiting; or otherwise supporting acts or activities related to the Taliban. The type of activities related are also expanded to include enterprise owned or controlled by names that are on the UN list. These restrictions in funding and proceeds related to Taliban extend to trafficking, financial and economic resources of every kind, including payment of ransoms.
The addition to funds to the frozen accounts is still allowed under the rules set on S/RES/1988. The document calls for all Member States to make use of the provisions set out in previous resolutions regarding sanctioned individuals and entities. Afterwards, the document moves to issues of listing individuals and entities and how to add names to the list. It initiates by calling all Member States to submit to the Committee a list of names to be possibly included in the sanctions regime. Nonetheless, for the states to submit a name, they need to include relevant information, making a detailed statement of case that should be releasable upon request. This information ought to be made accessible in the Committee’s website when a name is to be added to the list, including a narrative summary of the reasons for the listing to take place.
The resolution also calls on the Member States to share any information related to narratives and the elements of listing. The document still requests the Secretariat to publicize all relevant publicly releasable information immediately after a name is added to the List, it is also called upon all Member States to consult with the Government of Afghanistan when considering the proposal of a new designation. The Committee shall notify the Government of Afghanistan, its Permanent Mission and the Permanent Mission of the State in which the individual is believed to be located within three days after a name is added. After discussing the long, tortuous and detailed process of listing an individual, the document moves towards describing how one would remove a name from the list. The delisting is considered to be process important for reconciliation in the preamble.
For one individual to be removed from the list, it has to be analysed on a case-by-case basis to establish that they no longer meet the criteria for listing and that they have renounced of violence and that they have no links to international terrorist organizations including Al-Qaeda and that the Government of Afghanistan and the international community are in consonance. For the delisting requirements it includes the coordination of these requests with the Government of Afghanistan to ensure that they are in accordance with their peace and reconciliation efforts. There is still the possibility that delisting efforts can be carried out without the sponsorship of a Member State and for that they would have to follow a mechanism called Focal Point that was established under S/RES/1730 (2006). The document also encourages the mission to support and facilitate cooperation between the government and the Committee to ensure that they share information.
The resolution also calls for the Member States to share information that could lead to the delisting of names to be considered by the Committee and by the Government of Afghanistan and this revision process is encourage both ways, as in when the delisted individual supports terror activities they should return to be sanctioned. The resolution engages with matters of reviewing and maintaining the sanctions list close to the points expressed when listing and delisting names on the sanctions’ list. For that S/RES/1988 calls for timely and expeditious modifications to the list and for it to be reviewed by the Monitoring Team to be circulated to the Committee every six months regarding adjustments in terms of identification of different individuals and even to review the deceased individuals or entities that have ceased to exist.
The Committee is urged to establish fair and clear procedures for the conduct of its work, with combined with the type of public exposure set on their website creates a very publicized sanctions regime. There is also encouragement for the Member States to send their representative to discuss the issues of sanctions with the Committee to review their ongoing work. Afterwards, the resolution moves to discuss elements of cooperation with the Government of Afghanistan and for that it encourages cooperation amongst the different entities that have been previously discussed. It also welcomes the desire of the Afghan government to assist the Committee in coordinating their work.
S/RES/1988 establishes a new sanctions committee, just like the 1540 Committee previously discussed in this blog. As usual it will consist of all the members of the Security Council and it’s main task will be to work with the list of names that have been discussed throughout the resolution. The Committee will deal requests related to adding and removing names from the list as well as updates on the list, it will be responsible to craft the list in a section of individuals and a second section of entities and other groups. It will also update the list; make the narrative summaries accessible; review the names of the list; make periodic reports to the Council; ensure the existence of fair and clear procedures; examine the reports; monitor implementation; consider requests; establish guidelines; encourage a dialogue among the interested parties; seek information from all Member States; examine and take action on the information; facilitate capacity building; and finally, cooperate with other Sanctions Committees under the Security Council. In sum, all the elements explored throughout the resolution.
To assist the Committee, the 1267 Monitoring Team created under S/RES/1526 (2004) shall work in concert with it. The guidelines for the work of the monitoring team are expressed in details in the annex of S/RES/1988. When it comes to coordination and outreach, S/RES/1988 still calls for contact with relevant UNSC Committees to assist in the reaching their mandate and building a better list. It also encourages the mission on the ground to provide assistance to the High Peace Council to help listed individuals in the reconciliation process. The resolution still calls for a review of the implementation in eighteen months to makes adjustments and finally remains seized of the matter.
In Conclusion
S/RES/1988 is a long and detailed resolution that addresses most of the aspects that surround the sanctions regime that is established against individuals and entities that support the Taliban. The important element of this resolution for individuals not particularly interested in the sanctions established in Afghanistan is that it opens a window to glance into how intricate and detailed it is the process to add and remove names on the list. It also provides insight into how the transparency efforts take place inside the sanctions systems of the Security Council.
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