SC/8385
17 May 2005

Security Council Committee Meets Senior Officials of United Kingdom to Discuss Implementation of Sanctions against Al-Qaida, Taliban

NEW YORK, 13 May (UN Headquarters) -- The Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee met on 13 May 2005 under the chairmanship of Ambassador Mayoral (Argentina). The meeting was convened at the ambassadorial level for a briefing by senior representatives of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning issues relevant to the Committee’s mandate.  The meeting was arranged pursuant to paragraph 11 of resolution 1526 (2004) that provides States with an opportunity, at the Committee’s request, to send representatives to meet with the Committee for more in-depth discussion of relevant issues. This was the second such meeting following the briefing provided by the United States of America on 10 January 2005.

The briefing included presentations by Mr. Edward Oakden, Director Defence and Strategic Threats (and the Foreign Secretary’s Envoy on Terrorism), Foreign and Commonwealth Office; Mr. Kevin Adams, International Organisations Department, Foreign and Commonwealth Office; and Mr. Matthew Rowe, Charity Commission.  The Committee was informed in detail of current efforts by the United Kingdom to implement the sanctions against Al-Qaida and the Taliban imposed by the Security Council under resolution 1267 (1999) and subsequent relevant resolutions.

The Committee appreciated with gratitude the substantive information and clarifications provided by the United Kingdom’s representatives.  Members of the Committee find that this kind of dialogue and direct interaction with Member States can be a useful tool for further improving and enhancing effective sanctions implementation.  The Committee and its Chairman strongly encourage other States to benefit from the opportunity to meet with the Committee.  For this purpose, they are invited to submit a brief outline of the relevant issue(s) they wish to discuss to the Committee Chairman’s office (Mr. Guillermo Kendall: e-mail gek@mrecic.gov.ar; fax: (212) 980-8395) and to the Committee Secretariat (Ms. Tatiana Cosio:  e-mail Cosio@un.org; fax:  (212) 963-1300).

* *** *