Nearly 400 terrorist suspects under UN sanctions

Nov 14, 2009, 2:26 GMT

New York - The UN Security Council said Friday it has compiled the names of 397 individuals associated with the terrorist group al-Qaeda or the Taliban who could be subject to government- imposed sanctions.

Committees working to implement the council's resolutions aimed at combatting global terrorism have been identifying individuals suspected of having ties to al-Qaeda and the Taliban and have been urging governments to freeze assets and impose travel bans on them.

Austrian Ambassador Thomas Mayr-Harting, who heads one of the committees and holds the 15-member council's rotating presidency in November, said 255 individuals were found to be associated with al- Qaeda and 107 others associated with the Taliban.

The radical Islamist Taliban was ousted from power in Afghanistan in 2001 by a US-led invasion for harbouring al-Qaeda, the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001.

The council's committees met regularly to review and update the list of terrorist suspects. The committees were formed to fight terrorism through UN sanctions.

Some governments, which have to implement the sanctions on suspects found on their territories, have complained about the procedures to determine whether their nationals are terrorist suspects.

Some of the suspects on the list have died in the meantime, and the committees have had to verify and ensure that their assets do not fall into the wrong hands. Governments have had to regularly report to the committees about the suspects.

Mayr-Harting said in a report that threats posed by al Qaeda and Taliban 'persist' years after the council began its anti-terrorist campaign.

'Over the years this threat has evolved considerably and we must ensure that the existing sanctions regime against al Qaeda and Taliban remains a relevant and effective tool in countering terrorism,' he said.