S/PV.5609 Security Council

There were 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 1735 (2006). I shall now make a statement in my capacity as representative of Qatar. My delegation voted in favour of resolution 1735 (2006) because we are convinced of the need to combat terrorism, although we remain extremely concerned about the wording of certain preambular and operative paragraphs, in particular paragraph 32. That paragraph refers to the appointment of the members of the Monitoring Team, despite our very pointed reservations. The resolution unjustifiably goes beyond the established United Nations rules of procedure with respect to the appointment of members of the Monitoring Team. It also goes beyond the authority and mandate of the sanctions committees and disregards the methods of dialogue, consultation and cooperation that should govern the selection of members of the Monitoring Team in a democratic, transparent and collective manner and on the basis of complete equity. On various occasions throughout the year, we have voiced our deep concern about the professionalism of the Monitoring Team of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1267 (1999) concerning Al-Qaida and the Taliban and associated individuals and entities. It goes without saying that certain elements enjoying a preponderant role in the Team do not display the required degree of professionalism and transparency and that some of the Team’s methods harm the interests of certain States or religions. That prevents the Team from dispassionately and objectively considering issues relating to certain cultures, religions, customs and traditions. I do not believe that this serves the interests of justice and equity. On the contrary, it serves the interests and policies of certain States. We have drawn the attention of the Monitoring Team, the Committee and the Security Council as a whole to that dangerous trend, but the Team and its Coordinator have shown no sense of urgency about improving their behaviour and acting in a more professional and objective manner. We call on the Working Group of the Al-Qaida and Taliban Committee to exercise neutrality, transparency and objectivity and to improve its working methods in order to avoid partiality, and we ask the Secretariat to take the measures necessary to remedy those shortcomings. We cannot have a situation in which an entity exceeds the mandate and principles given to a technical group. The resolution should not serve as a precedent as regards the appointment of experts to monitoring teams created by sanctions committees. As I have said, the most elementary rules and procedures of the Security Council and the United Nations have been flouted in selecting the Monitoring Team’s experts. I now resume my functions as President of the Security Council. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda.