S/PV.8437 Security Council

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Council has before it the text of a statement by the President on behalf of the Council on the subject of today’s meeting. I thank the Council members for their valuable contributions to that statement. In accordance with the understanding reached among the members of the Council, I shall take it that the members of the Security Council agree to the statement, which will be issued as a document of the Security Council under the symbol S/PRST/2018/21. I shall now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements.

The Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015) concerning the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals, groups, undertakings and entities remains a vital tool in our counter-terrorism efforts, and Sweden, France, Kuwait, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom welcome the adoption of presidential statement S/PRST/2018/21, on the review of resolution 2368 (2017). We reiterate our strong support for the mandate of the Ombudsperson of the ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee, which is set out in resolution 2368 (2017). The institution of the Ombudsperson is of crucial importance for due process, and therefore for the efficiency of, and compliance with, the sanctions regime. Respect for international due process standards is key to all States Members of the United Nations for the effective implementation of the Security Council’s sanctions measures. In that regard, we welcome the continued discussions on how to ensure respect for due process standards across sanctions regimes, allowing for sufficient capacities to that end. We support the Council’s continued work on strengthening the mandate of the Office of the Ombudsperson and we stress the importance of safeguarding its independence, preventing longer vacancies of the post and ensuring transparency in the Ombudsperson’s process. We also encourage the Council to consider the proposals put forward by the Group of Like-minded States on Targeted Sanctions in its letter to the Council on 7 December, during further discussions on the continued evaluation of the implementation of the measures.