S/PV.7242 Security Council

In accordance with rule 37 of the Security Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representatives of Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic to participate in this meeting. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. Members of the Council have before them document S/2014/589, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by Australia, Chad, Chile, France, Jordan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Nigeria, the Republic of Korea, Rwanda, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America. It is my understanding that the Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it. I shall put the draft resolution to the vote now.

There were 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 2170 (2014). I shall now give the floor to members of the Council who wish to make statements following the voting. I shall now make a statement in my capacity as the representative of the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom welcomes the unanimous adoption of resolution 2170 (2014). We are grateful for the strong support from Council members for this initiative and for the clear sense of unity that enabled this strong Chapter VII resolution to be agreed so quickly. Today, the Council has sent a clear political message to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Jabhat Al-Nusra and other Al-Qaida-inspired terrorists and has taken important practical steps to combat the threat they pose. That threat is growing. ISIL, Jabhat Al-Nusra and other Al-Qaida-inspired terrorists are undermining the stability and security of the people of Iraq and Syria. They threaten the wider Middle East region. We have watched with horror their brutal actions — attempts to wipe out entire communities on the basis of their religion or belief, indiscriminate killing, illegal and savage executions, deliberate targeting of civilians and appalling levels of sexual violence, especially against women and children. Resolution 2170 (2014) represents the international community’s comprehensive rejection of those terrorist groups and expresses its determination to respond. The Council has taken a firm and united stand. There is already a strong response under way to the short-term threat from ISIL, including military and humanitarian. The United Kingdom is participating fully in the humanitarian response in both Iraq and Syria. We are supporting efforts to establish inclusive governance and to strengthen moderate elements in both countries. However, this resolution provides an additional framework for a longer-term and strategic international response to the threat. In particular, it sends a clear political message that the international community utterly condemns ISIL’s brutal and mindless terrorist acts, rejects its violent extremist ideology and is united in its resolve to oppose and confront it. The resolution contains measures to stifle recruitment and to target the growing phenomenon of foreign terrorist fighters. It tackles the financing of terrorism, calling on all Member States to immediately cease all trade and materiel support that enables ISIL and other terrorist groups to function. It sanctions six key ISIL and Jabhat Al-Nusra individuals under the United Nations Al-Qaida sanctions regime, sending a clear signal that there is no impunity for those who seek to support Al-Qaida or its splinter groups. Today, the Council has shown that it will not stand idle in the face of terrorism and violations of human rights. The resolution is not the final word. The framework that it provides will need to be developed and refined, but the Council’s unity on the text establishes a strong basis for doing that. We must be resolute, active and creative in considering what further measures should be taken to tackle that terrorist scourge. I now resume my functions as President of the Council.

The Russian Federation supported resolution 2170 (2014), adopted today, on the basis of its consistent position on the need for an uncompromising fight against terrorism and for united efforts to that end. We have repeatedly called on the Security Council to condemn the terrorists running rampant in Syria and Iraq. Today, terrorism is rapidly becoming an independent political factor in the Middle East. In such circumstances, there is no place for ad hoc approaches and for dividing terrorists into good and bad. In February of this year, the Russian delegation proposed the adoption of a draft presidential statement condemning the terrorists in Syria. Unfortunately, it was not supported by certain members of the Council. In July, on Russia’s initiative, the Council adopted presidential statement S/PRST/2014/14 on countering the use by terrorists of revenue from Syrian and Iraqi oil. We hope that the resolution adopted today will be a significant step in the common fight against terrorism and will affirm the support of the international community for the Governments of the Republic of Iraq and of the Syrian Arab Republic in their efforts to counter the scourge. Although the resolution has been adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, it cannot be seen as approval of the use of military action. At the same time, we must note some aspects that complicated the task of negotiating such an important document. We are concerned about the departure from the procedure established by the Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999) and 1989 (2011), concerning Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, for the inclusion of new names on the sanctions list. Such a step undermines the credibility of a key subsidiary body of the Council and leads to the weakening of the established procedures operating effectively within its framework that enable States to take balanced and informed decisions. We agree that the fact of inclusion on the list of the names of abhorrent sponsors of terrorism deserves to be made widely known. However, we believe that it is counterproductive to waive the rules that govern the work of the subsidiary bodies of the Security Council. It was only in a spirit of compromise, given the disastrous situation in the region due to the Jabhat Al-Nusra and Islamic State terrorist organizations, that we agreed with the use in the resolution of certain terms, such as atrocities and abuses, that are not enshrined in international legal instruments and that distort the scope of international humanitarian and human rights law. We are fundamentally opposed to their use in future Security Council resolutions.

The growth of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Nusra Front and other associates of Al-Qaida represents a grave threat to the people of Syria and of Iraq, as well as to the region and the larger international community. Through its rapid and brutal advance across northern Iraq, ISIL has secured heavy weapons and used them to push back the Iraqi and Peshmerga forces who are trying to defend towns and cities. It has seized some of the country’s precious natural resources and taken control of critical infrastructure. ISIL now has the ability to block the flow of electricity and to control access to the water supplies on which people depend. ISIL and the Nusra Front have used Syria’s civil war and Iraq’s instability to claim territory, into which they attract others who are bent on violent extremism and from which they can potentially launch attacks across the region and to other parts of the world. That is the new front of the terrorist threat, with a devastating human cost. ISIL’s recent attacks in Ninewa have displaced an estimated 200,000 people, bringing the total number of internally displaced persons in Iraq since January to a staggering 1.4 million. The stories that have emerged from ISIL’s bloody wake are the stuff of nightmares. Christians have been driven from their homes with the threat of “convert or die”. Earlier today, I met with a bishop who was in Iraq just after the fall of Mosul. He described one ISIL attack on a hospital. A Christian patient who refused to convert was shot in the head. Two who agreed to convert, denounced as infidels, had their throats slit. Yazidis have been buried alive, beheaded or killed in mass executions. Thousands were forced to flee to Mount Sinjar, where many ultimately perished from thirst or exposure to the elements. The Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights estimates that 500 Yazidi women and girls have been abducted. There are reports of them being raped, trafficked and killed. ISIL and Jabhat Al-Nusra continue to carry out similar atrocities in Syria with seeming pride, posting gleeful images to the Internet. ISIL also continues to confiscate much-needed humanitarian aid bound for thousands of civilians in eastern Syria. They have no shame whatsoever. Today’s resolution 2170 (2014), which the United States is proud to co-sponsor, represents the Council’s strong and unified position that all Member States must disrupt the terrorist financing and foreign fighter recruitment networks that are fuelling the violence perpetrated by ISIL, the Nusra Front and other associates of Al-Qaida in the region. By imposing sanctions on six individuals, the resolution demonstrates the Council’s sense of urgency and its willingness to take concrete action against those who carry the guns and those who supply them. Unchecked, the current terrorist financing and the foreign fighter recruitment networks will only prolong the terror that we have seen unleashed in the region. The numbers of foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq, as well as their source nations, are unprecedented. Reportedly, as many as 12,000 have participated in the conflict, and the return of radicalized and battle-hardened jihadists to their home countries or other vulnerable destinations has the potential to widen the scope of the violence. The resolution should help to stem the flow of money and people, and I urge all Member States to expend every effort to help achieve such goals. The United States is proud to have taken unprecedented steps to protect and assist the Yazidis who were trapped on Mount Sinjar. Today, we join with others on the Council in calling on all parties to prevent or to stop the widespread or systematic attacks directed against any civilian populations because of their ethnic background, political views, religion or beliefs. We believe that Iraq’s future political success will depend on preserving its unity and on maintaining its vibrant diversity. We were encouraged by Prime Minister Al-Maliki’s decision to support Prime Minister-designate Al-Abadi. That peaceful and historic transition of power demonstrates that Iraq is on its way to developing the kind of fully inclusive Government that it will need if it is to unify all Iraqis in the fight against ISIL. The international community must support Iraq to that end.

I thank the United Kingdom for its strong leadership in putting resolution 2170 (2014) forward for adoption today. The resolution is a decisive step by the Council. It is an unambiguous condemnation of the brutal and savage acts of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the Nusra Front and an expression of determination to harness the full force of Security Council tools on counter-terrorism to target those groups. ISIL is a major and lethal threat to the people of Iraq and Syria, including through its indiscriminate targeting of civilians, its mass executions and extra-judicial killings, sexual violence and widespread, potentially genocidal persecution based on religion or belief. It is imposing its own abhorrent rule and butchering those who do not submit. The impact of its violent extremism on civilian populations and stability in Iraq, Syria and the region is immense. It is a threat to the global community itself, and we must all rally to counter the scourge. We welcome the targeted United States air strikes against ISIL that have relieved the siege of Mount Sinjar. Australia joined the United States and United Kingdom in air-dropping humanitarian supplies to civilians, and we will continue to work with other partners in responding to this humanitarian crisis. We are relieved to see the political situation in Iraq stabilizing, and welcome the nomination of Haider Al-Abadi as Prime Minister-designate as an important step towards the formation of a new, inclusive Iraqi Government. Iraq’s leaders must now work together, including in meeting the threat posed by ISIL. Today’s resolution is a clarion call to Member States to continually review their national counter- terrorism measures in order to keep pace with the evolving threat so starkly and lethally embodied in those two entities. All Member States must take action to prevent the movement of terrorists and terror groups, including foreign fighters, across borders, to prevent the financing and supply of weapons to terrorists, and to counter the emergence of violent extremism. On 5 August, the Australian Government announced its intention to adopt specific new measures to target the evolving terrorist threat. They will strengthen our border controls to prevent terrorists from leaving Australia and make it easier to prosecute foreign fighters. They will inhibit terrorist training and enable greater engagement with those at risk of radicalization or who may resort to extreme violence. Australia already has a sophisticated counter- terrorist architecture in place nationally, but it is clear that the threat from extremism and terrorism is real and growing, and that all countries should ensure that their own counter-terrorism measures match this evolving threat. Today’s resolution is also a timely reminder of the role of the Council’s Al-Qaida sanctions regime in disrupting the activities of groups such as ISIL and Jabhat Al-Nusra. It underlines that anyone who provides material support to those entities for either the recruitment or travel of foreign fighters, or by providing financing through donations or the illicit trade in the oil the groups now control, can be subject to the Al-Qaida sanctions regime. Today’s listing of six key individuals in ISIL and Jabhat Al-Nusra is an important step, but the Committee established pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999) and 1989 (2011), concerning Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, needs Member States to identify ISIL and Jabhat Al-Nusra’s agents and enablers, wherever they are, and to bring information to the Committee in support of their inclusion on the Al-Qaida sanctions list. Ultimately, the success of the sanctions and preventive counter-terrorism measures specified in today’s resolution will depend on their implementation by Member States. To that end, the Council itself must energize its own existing systems to assist Member States in doing that, and it must continue to keep a very close eye on the effectiveness of its own measures to counter the evolving threat from terrorism. The report required within 90 days under resolution 2170 (2014) on the threat from ISIL and Jabhat Al-Nusra, and above all, the requested recommendations for additional action to address that threat, will be important. It will be essential that the Council address those recommendations quickly.

The Jordanian delegation welcomes the initiative of the United Kingdom that has led to the Council’s adoption of resolution 2170 (2014) today. It aims to counter the terrorist threats represented by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the Nusra Front in Syria and Iraq. It also condemns the recruitment and financing of those terrorist groups. Through it we are sending a significant political message from the Security Council to the effect that the international community is determined to confront the terrorist activities of those and every other terrorist group. We are also resolved to counter those groups’ military threat and their crimes in Iraq and Syria. The resolution also enables us to add several individuals and entities in ISIS and Jabhat Al-Nusra to the sanctions list. The crimes against humanity committed recently by ISIS against innocent civilians underscore the importance of showing determination in confronting their barbarous acts, which go against every standard of acceptable human behaviour. Such crimes against humanity are an outrage to our consciences and our cultures. We cannot overemphasize the importance of ensuring that the political process in Iraq includes every group of Iraqi society and excludes none. It is also vital that the Government adopt policies that respect human rights and put Iraqi national interests first. That will benefit Iraq, its people and the region. It is also the best possible way to combat terrorists, including those of ISIS. In that context, we stress that ISIS and other extremist groups do not represent Sunnis in Iraq. We reaffirm that the Sunni community in Iraq must be an essential part of any inclusive political process, which should include all sectors of Iraqi society. Jordan welcomes the latest positive political events in Iraq, that is, the announcement of a new President, Prime Minister and Speaker of Parliament. We reiterate that terrorism in Syria is one factor in this crisis and not its cause, because it is the policies of the Syrian regime and the security methods it uses to respond to the legitimate aspirations of its people — not to mention its marginalization and suppression of the moderate opposition — that are the main causes of the crisis in Syria. We therefore reaffirm how important it is that the efforts to combat terrorism in Syria be accompanied by efforts to put an interim Government in place. Jordan is well aware of the regional and international threat posed by terrorist and extremist groups in Syria and Iraq. Like the rest of the international community, we are also very worried about the geographic expansion of such groups. That demands that we work together and pool our efforts at the regional and international levels in order to confront this scourge. Jordan will also continue to make every possible effort to promote cooperation with all the parties concerned at the regional and international levels to combat terrorism.

China supports the Security Council’s adoption of resolution 2170 (2014), aimed at combating such terrorist groups as the Islamic State in the Levant (ISIL) and the Nusra Front. Recently, ISIL and the Nusra Front have been rampantly and deliberately attacking civilians and persecuting people of other religions and ethnicities, resulting in large numbers of casualties among innocent civilians and the displacement of millions of civilians. That has become a serious threat to peace and security in the Middle East and the world as a whole. China calls upon the international community to faithfully implement the resolution just adopted and to strengthen its efforts to combat such terrorist groups as ISIL and the Nusra Front by adopting concrete measures to cut off the supply of arms, personnel and financing to those terrorist groups from outside so as to stop the spread of terrorism in countries such as Iraq and to maintain peace and stability in the Middle East and throughout the world. With globalization and the development of information and communications technology, terrorist groups such as ISIL and the Nusra Front are increasingly using the Internet and social media to spread terrorist propaganda video and audio products, to recruit for, incite, plan and execute terrorist acts and to raise funds for their terrorist activities. China welcomes the adoption of resolution 2170 (2014), which contains provisions on sanctions against terrorist groups such as ISIL and the Nusra Front in terms of their use of the Internet and social media to recruit people and obtain weapons and financing. We hope that the international community will attach great importance to this issue and will enhance their cooperation to combat cyberterrorism together. China is also a victim of terrorism. We strongly oppose all forms of terrorism and will continue to actively participate in international counter-terrorism cooperation and to combat the threat of terrorism together.

France welcomes the unanimous adoption of resolution 2170 (2014), which demonstrates the Security Council’s determination to act against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. Following the Security Council’s firm condemnation in July of the abuses perpetrated by that terrorist organization against ethnic and religious minorities, the resolution enables us to go further in the fight against terrorism. The resolution is also a new milestone in the necessary mobilization of the international community to address the threat posed to all by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. The sanctioning of six individuals connected to that organization and the Nusra Front is a decisive step in the fight against those groups. France, which has made the struggle against the phenomenon of foreign fighters a national priority, welcomes this decision to sanction those individuals who are continuing to provide foreign fighters to those networks. The fight against terrorism is a key issue in Iraq, in which France is playing its full role alongside the Iraqi authorities. However, that does not mean that we can forget the crucial need to find a political settlement. France welcomes the designation of Mr. Al-Abadi as Prime Minister as an important step towards forming an inclusive Government that represents all Iraqis, which will make it possible to find a lasting solution to Iraq’s challenges. It is crucial that the Prime Minister form a Government as soon as possible, within the timetable set out by the Constitution. France reiterates its full support to Iraq at this crucial moment.

I would like to thank the United Kingdom for having taken the initiative of presenting resolution 2170 (2014). We welcome its unanimous adoption. Chad voted in favour of the resolution and sponsored it, because terrorism is a scourge that has neither a face nor a border and is a threat not only to the region, but to international peace and security. We continue to be concerned by the flow of foreign fighters into Iraq and Syria, as it is a clear threat to the region and a source of concern for the rest of the world. The resolution that we have just adopted sends a strong message by the international community to all terrorist groups around the world, including those operating in other regions, such as in Africa. While reiterating the need for a relentless campaign against terrorism around the world, Chad reiterates its belief that the barbarous and reprehensible acts perpetrated by the Islamic State in the Levant, the Nusra Front and groups associated with them cannot be attributed to one religion, nationality or community, much less to one civilization. Chad welcomes the designation of Mr. Haidar Al-Abadi as the future Prime Minister of Iraq. We hope that the new Iraqi Government will be able to establish the necessary conditions to maintain the cohesion, unity, integrity and stability of the country while respecting the diversity of Iraqi society.

I would like to start by thanking the United Kingdom for preparing resolution 2170 (2014), which the Council has just adopted. We also thank Member States for their flexibility in achieving consensus. Chile sponsored the resolution because we believe that, through it, the Security Council is responding to the urgent need to put a stop to the advance and attacks by the Islamic State in the Levant (ISIL) in Iraq and Syria. In that context, we hope that the unanimous adoption of the resolution will serve as a reminder of how important it is to decisively condemn and combat the terrorism affecting the region. We would like to appeal to Member States to fulfil their obligations in implementing and enforcing compliance with the financial sanctions and to take targeted measures to put an end to the flow of foreign terrorist fighters. Chile would like to underscore the universal validity of human rights and international humanitarian law, including the rights of minorities. Observing and ensuring respect for those rights is essential for democratic governance and social peace in culturally and religiously diverse States.

I now give the floor to the representative of the Syrian Arab Republic.

I encourage the representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to conclude his statement now.

I now give the floor to the representative of Iraq.

Allow me, first of all, to congratulate the United Kingdom on its assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for the month of August and for its efforts in organizing the work of the Council. I thank Sir Mark Lyall Grant and the members of his team for their fruitful efforts in conducting the Council’s work. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Rwandan delegation for its outstanding presidency of the Council last month. The siege of cities, the massacres, the displacement and the ethnic cleansing practiced by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) against the Iraqi people, the propagation and application of its extremist thought and the crimes against humanity that it commits against all sectors of Iraqi society have targeted unarmed civilians. In that regard, horrible massacres have been committed, children have been recruited, and churches and other religious, cultural and historical sites have been destroyed. ISIL is also persecuting whole religious groups on the basis of their ethnic identity and their religious beliefs, targeting in particular the Yazidi and Christian minorities and the Turkmen Shiites. That has led to the exodus of hundreds of thousands of peaceful families. Those are the numerous horrible acts that illustrate its criminal, extremist thought. The displaced live in tragic conditions. They are forced to live in tents or to take shelter in schools and churches, and many of them do not receive any basic humanitarian assistance. That is why the United Nations, through Special Representative of the Secretary-General Nikolay Mladenov, has declared a level 3 state of emergency, which is the Organization’s highest level. To date, entire besieged regions continue to await assistance. Mount Sinjar and the area around Nahiyat Imberli are completely under attack, as they are sheltering a large number of Turkmen Shiite families. My Government continues to make considerable efforts to mobilize all its materiel and logistical resources to ease the suffering of the internally displaced persons. Iraq condemns in the strongest possible terms the barbaric terrorist acts carried out by ISIL and groups affiliated with Al-Qaida across borders. We want to show that the danger represented by the existence of those terrorist groups is far from limited to threatening the security of the people and the State of Iraq; it is a threat to international security and to all peoples of the region without exception. That is why Iraq fully supports the adoption of this resolution at this very difficult time and critical juncture for our country. We thank the United Kingdom for its efforts in preparing and circulating the resolution among the other members of the Council. The importance of the resolution lies in the fact that it combines all previous resolutions on combating terrorism and focuses the efforts of Member States in combating ISIL, Jabhat Al-Nusra and all affiliated groups. The resolution also supports human rights, religious freedom, tolerance and the protection of civilians. Terrorism is an international scourge that knows no borders. The proliferation of ISIL across the Syrian, Iraqi and Lebanese borders is clear proof of that. That group must be defeated, which requires the united efforts of all regional and international actors. Iraq therefore calls for the implementation of all the resolution’s provisions in order to ensure the following. First, it is essential to ensure the cooperation of the international community, including the neighbouring countries, through the adoption of national measures to paralyse terrorist movements by blocking the flow across borders of foreign terrorists who are trying to join the ranks of ISIL and Jabhat Al-Nusra in the field. It is essential to control the borders and to bring criminals to justice under international law, while respecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Iraq. Secondly, States need to follow very closely the individuals and entities on their territory, in particular those who might be recruited by terrorist groups, by preventing them from travelling to Iraq or Syria to join the ranks of ISIL or Jabhat Al-Nusra. It is also crucial to ban the dissemination of radical documents and extremist ideology through social networks around the world. Thirdly, it is essential to prohibit all kinds of direct or indirect transactions with ISIL and the Nusra Front, as well as individuals and entities affiliated with Al-Qaida, by ceasing to provide them with weapons and military equipment. Fourthly, States should take strong national measures to eliminate the sources of financing for terrorists by freezing the assets of individuals and entities that finance terrorism. Fifthly, Iraq calls on all States to criminalize ISIL and urges them to present the names of individuals and entities that support such groups. Sixthly, we need to call for the adoption of an international statement that clearly states that such terrorist groups are criminals. That statement must be endorsed by all States, which must commit to defeating such terrorist groups. On behalf of the people and Government of Iraq, I thank the United States and its President. I also thank the United Nations and call on the Council to assume its responsibilities in implementing the resolution.

The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda.