Noose is tightening on Al Qaeda, says UN

UN sanctions are tightening the noose on Al Qaeda and the Taliban, according to a Security Council committee chairman.

Ambassador Heraldo Munoz, head of the council committee monitoring the sanctions against Al-Qaida and the Taliban, said a Security Council resolution adopted in late January, "improves and deepens" the sanctions regime by freezing not only funds and financial assets but also other economic resources, including property.

The resolution also dealt with the role of non-profit organizations and informal, alternative remittance systems, while adding new internal reporting requirements to tackle currency movements across borders.

National reports are due to the committee by 31 March, and those governments that do not comply with this deadline will be named on a public list, according to the resolution.

Mr Munoz then paid tribute to Saudi Arabia, which has been a hotbed of fundamentalist activity and finance for terrorists, for its commitment to tackle the problem.

The ambassador said: "I think this is an important message that we're serious about countries meeting the requirements that the Security Council has set up."

He added: "We don't want a monitoring team that pulls its punches. We want a monitoring team that analyses the issues and conveys its best judgement on the implementation of the sanctions."

The ambassador strongly condemned last week's bombing of a Moscow subway train, which he said demonstrates that "terrorism is active and it is global in scope".

(gmcg)