S/PV.7379 Security Council

In accordance with rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representatives of Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Morocco, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, Sweden, the Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia and Turkey 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/2015/100, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by Angola, Armenia, Australia, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Chad, Chile, China, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Montenegro, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, Romania, the Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, Spain, Sweden, the Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. 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.

The draft resolution received 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 2199 (2015). I shall now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements following the adoption of the resolution.

We would like to convey our gratitude to our colleagues in the Security Council for the constructive approach and effective cooperation they demonstrated during their work on resolution 2199 (2015), which was just adopted. We would also like to thank all the delegations that sponsored the resolution, initially submitted to the Council by the Russian Federation. We believe that this type of case clearly shows the need to use collective efforts to resolve the issues we face. Having adopted resolution 2199 (2015), we have taken yet another important step in suppressing the financing of terrorists, first and foremost through the illegal trafficking of oil, and in suppressing the terrorist threat faced by Syria, Iraq and other States in the Middle East, whose impact is felt far beyond the borders of the region.

Today the Security Council has adopted a robust Chapter VII resolution to counter the threat posed by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Al-Nusra Front and other individuals and entities associated with Al-Qaida. The unanimous vote in favour of resolution 2199 (2015) shows our joint commitment to confronting violent extremist groups that threaten our collective security and the human rights that the United Nations was created to defend. The United States strongly supports today’s resolution, which is part of a comprehensive strategy to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL. The strategy also includes the coordinated efforts of many nations to conduct robust military operations to degrade ISIL’s military capabilities, enact tougher laws and foster better cooperation to stop the flow of the foreign terrorist fighters who fill ISIL’s ranks, and to counter the violent ideologies that attract people to ISIL and help fuel the group’s attacks. In recent weeks and months, we have seen what this strategy can yield. Together with partners, we are degrading ISIL’s leadership capabilities, knocking out oil fields, refineries and other associated infrastructure that ISIL controls, and supporting troops on the ground as they fight to recapture terroritory from the group, as was achieved in Kobani. As a result of these and other efforts, ISIL is having a harder time generating the new funds needed to carry out its operations. Today’s resolution aims to make that effort even more challenging by using sanctions and other punitive tools to target three ISIL income streams. First, the resolution provides States with clear, practical instruction for how to cut off ISIL’s illicit oil smuggling. United Nations sanctions already require States to stop that trade, but resolution 2199 (2015) also presses States to step up their efforts to prevent and disrupt the movement of vehicles going to and from areas controlled by ISIL and the Al-Nusra Front so as to stop the flow of assets traded by the groups, whether oil, precious metals and minerals, or refining equipment. Secondly, by imposing a new ban on the trade in smuggled Syrian antiquities, the resolution both cuts off a source of ISIL revenue and helps to protect an irreplaceable cultural heritage of the region and the world. To help stop that trade, the United States has sponsored the publication of so-called emergency red lists of Syrian and Iraqi antiquities at risk, which can help international law enforcement catch antiquities trafficked out of those countries. Thirdly, the resolution reinforces the existing prohibition in United Nations sanctions on all payments and donations to ISIL, the Al-Nusra Front and other Al-Qaida affiliates, including ransoms, which perpetuate a cycle of horrific brutality, giving those groups resources to carry out more murderous and incentivizing them to take more people captive. The devastating consequences of such kidnappings and abductions have been felt by families, communities and whole nations in recent weeks and months. Lieutenant Muath al-Kaseasbeh, the Jordanian pilot executed by ISIL, was just 26 years old when he was murdered. A devout Muslim, in his last conversation with his wife he reminded her to pray and told her that he had performed a double prayer for martyrs. Kenji Goto, age 47, a Japanese journalist executed by ISIL, had gone to Syria to search for a kidnapped colleague and friend, Haruna Yukawa, who was also killed. Kenji spent his life writing about conflicts. An award-winning children’s book he wrote in 2006 — I Want Peace Rather Than a Diamond — told the story of a former child soldier in Sierra Leone. Kayla Mueller, a 26-year old American, had been drawn to the region to alleviate the suffering of Syrians, volunteering to work with refugee children in neighbouring Turkey. In an interview before she was abducted by ISIL and later killed, she said: “For as long as I live, I will not let this suffering be normal, something we just accept.” The loss of people like Muath, Kenji, Haruna and Kayla deepens our resolve to eradicate the violent group that cut their lives short. At the same time as we applaud the Council’s resolute action to address the threat posed by ISIL, we lament the Council’s persistent failure to address one of the main factors that led to the group’s rise. There is no better recruiting tool for ISIL than the atrocities of the Al-Assad regime, which has dropped barrel bombs on civilians, used chemical weapons on its own people, and tortured tens of thousands more in its prisons. We regret that we were not able to show the same unity we have shown today in adopting the critically important resolution on ISIL when it came to the crimes of the Al-Assad regime. So just as we condemn the monstrosities perpetrated by ISIL, we must also continue to condemn the brutality of the Al-Assad regime, which has long since lost the legitimacy to lead, and reject the arguments of those who claim that we must partner with the regime to effectively confront violent extremists. As the war in Syria grinds on, we renew our call on the Council to press for the political solution needed to end the tremendous suffering of the Syrian people. Sir Mark Lyall Grant (United Kingdom): Resolution 2199 (2015) demonstrates the Security Council’s continuing determination to tackle the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), specifically targetting its means of financing. It primarily focuses on oil sales, but also covers other sources of ISIL income, including from kidnapping for ransom, the elicit trade in antiquities, natural resources and financial transfers. The swift agreement of the resolution shows the strong and continuing unity of the Council on countering terrorism. There is a disturbing body of evidence that Al-Qaida groups such as ISIL are generating significant income from the sale of oil, kidnapping for ransom, and the looting and smuggling of cultural heritage items from Iraq and Syria. The resolution contains measures to constrain ISIL’s ability to fund its campaign of terror. It targets the sale of oil by ISIL and the supply of oil-producing equipment to ISIL. It calls on States to prohibit the trade in Iraqi and Syrian cultural property that has been illegally removed. We are pleased to have played an important role in ensuring that the resolution was comprehensive in confronting all sources of terrorist financing, and we look forward to working on full and effective implementation following this unanimous show of support for the resolution.

France was severely struck by terrorist attacks in January. Far from laying us low, the attacks have strengthened our resolve to fight terrorism in all its forms, and to develop the international means and instruments available to do so. Yesterday, the presence of French Minister of Justice Christiane Taubira and her presentation to the Counter-Terrorism Committee clearly illustrated our determination. Our co-sponsorship of resolution 2199 (2015) is yet another demonstration thereof. Following upon resolution 2170 (2014), the text we have just adopted strengthens the obligations incumbent upon States, including in the following fields. It condemns all trade, direct and indirect, in particular of oil and associated materials, with the targeted terrorist individuals and entities, under pain of sanctions. States will have to inform the competent United Nations committee of any transfer on their territory of oil or associated materials to or from those groups. The resolution condemns the destruction of cultural heritage, including religious heritage, in Syria and Iraq. States will have to take measures to prevent the illegal trafficking of cultural goods, including archeological artifacts. It condemns the kidnapping and exploitation, including sexual exploitation, of women and children. For all these reasons, France will remain mobilized in the fight against terrorism at all levels, be it military, a political solution to the conflict, or financial.

Jordan welcomes the adoption of resolution 2199 (2015), which will help to cut off the sources of funding for the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and affiliated terrorist groups. We must fight ISIL with all tools available under international law. Resolution 2199 (2015) is one such tool. The international community must pool its efforts to fight the funding of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. Jordan will be on the front line in fighting this phenomenon and these terrorist groups, including ISIL. The martyrdom of the pilot Muath Al-Kaseasbeh makes Jordan even more resolved to persevere in these efforts.

I shall now make a statement in my capacity as the representative of China. China welcomes the Security Council’s unanimous adoption of resolution 2199 (2015), which is of great significance for the coordination of the international community’s fight against terrorism and for supporting efforts by the countries concerned to combat terrorist organizations. China opposes all forms of terrorism. We also oppose double standards in fighting terrorism. And we oppose linking terrorism with specific religions and ethnicities. We hope that the international community will comprehensively and fully implement resolution 2199 (2015), as well as resolutions 2170 (2014) and 2178 (2014), and jointly combat and contain terrorism. China calls on the international community to attach greater importance to the use of the Internet by terrorist organizations in engaging in terrorist activities. Pursuant to the relevant resolutions of the Security Council, the international community should enhance cooperation, implement policies in an integrated manner and cut off all the channels through which terrorist organizations use the Internet to broadcast terrorist and violent videos, spread extremist ideologies, recruit personnel, mobilize funds and instigate, plan and carry out terrorist activities. I now resume my functions as President of the Council. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda.