UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Finance ministers from the 15 Security Council nations will adopt a plan Thursday aimed at disrupting outside revenue that the Islamic State extremist group gets from oil and antiquities sales, ransom payments and other criminal activities.
The Islamic State group is already subject to U.N. sanctions under resolutions dealing with al-Qaida. The proposed Security Council resolution, sponsored by the United States and Russia, elevates IS to the same level as al-Qaida, reflecting its growing threat and split from the terror network behind the 9/11 attacks.
U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power called the meeting an unprecedented chance to bring together the people with the technical abilities to starve the Islamic State group of resources. The meeting will be chaired by U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, who said earlier this month that cutting the Islamic State group off from the international financial system is “critical to effectively combating this violent terrorist group.”
The Islamic State group, also known as ISIL, controls a large swath of Syria and Iraq, including oil and gas fields, though bombing campaigns by the U.S.-led coalition and ground forces have enabled Iraq to regain some territory.
A U.N. diplomat and a U.S. official said the majority of funding for the Islamic State group comes from internal sources that are difficult to disrupt. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
The U.S. official said getting at IS’ revenue is a serious challenge because much of it is internally generated from oil and gas sales with the potential to generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually, as well as from taxation and extortion. This is in contrast to al-Qaida, whose funding typically comes from kidnapping for ransom and outside donors, including charities.
The draft resolution calls IS, also known as ISIL, a splinter group of al-Qaida and stresses that “any individual, group, undertaking, or entity supporting ISIL or al-Qaida” is subject to U.N. sanctions, including an asset freeze, travel ban and arms embargo.
Power said the resolution will be a new piece of international law that “will require countries to do more than they have been doing.”
The fact the Islamic State group is still able to traffic in oil and artifacts and extort people is “a problem we should be able to solve,” she said.
The draft encourages the 193 U.N. member states “to more actively submit” names for inclusion on the sanctions list and expresses “increasing concern” at the failure of countries to implement previous sanctions resolutions.
It calls on all countries “to move vigorously and decisively to cut the flows of funds and other financial assets and economic resources” to those on the sanctions list.
The proposed resolution urges countries to share information about extremist groups and calls for a report within 120 days on what every country is doing to tackle the financing of IS and al-Qaida.
It also asks Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to provide an initial “strategic-level report” in 45 days on IS financing, as well as its planning of attacks, and to provide updates every four months.
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