S/PV.8582 Security Council

In accordance with rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representatives of Angola, Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Guinea, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Morocco, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Palau, Portugal, Qatar, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates 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/2019/580, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by Angola, Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, France, Germany, Guinea, Indonesia, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Morocco, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Palau, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America. 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 2482 (2019). I shall now give the floor to those Council members who wish to make statements.

The Russian Federation voted in favour of resolution 2482 (2019), prepared by Peruvian delegation, on the links between international terrorism and organized crime. We thank the authors of the document and you personally, Mr. President, for your consistent efforts to improve the Security Council’s toolkit for combating the various forms of support to terrorists. We believe that resolution 2482 (2019) should not be seen in and of itself as the end result of our work in that area. The nature of the threat is changing rapidly and the Council will have to revisit the issue of the nexus between terrorism and criminal activity. In that regard, we call on our colleagues to refrain from further attempts to use the issue to promote politicized ideas that have nothing to do with the Council’s efforts to maintain international peace and security. We are pleased to note that we have succeeded in focusing the resolution on the genuinely pressing issue of terrorist financing derived from the traffic in arms, drugs and human beings. Above all, we were able to substantially expand the Security Council’s toolkit on the issue of arms set forth in resolutions 2370 (2017) and 2462 (2019). As of today, all States that, for some reason, have not yet taken measures in that area should criminalize the illicit trafficking of explosives, military products and dual-use goods and adopt legislation banning the production of unmarked or improperly marked small arms and light weapons. In addition, resolution 2482 (2019) provides guidance on strengthening border cooperation to combat such crimes. We also recall the obligations set out in resolution 2178 (2014) with regard to prosecuting those who train terrorists. Regrettably, some countries naïvely believe that those provisions do not address training in the production and use of weapons, explosives and other specific materials used to perpetrate acts of terrorism. We believe that the implementation of the package of measures approved today by States will be closely monitored by the Counter-Terrorism Committee. In turn, we stand ready to share our experiences in disrupting the supply of arms to terrorists and provide the necessary assistance to interested States.

I shall now make a statement in my capacity as Minister for Foreign Affairs of Peru. Peru welcomes the adoption of resolution 2482 (2019), concerning the links between international terrorism and organized crime. We thank the members of the Council and the broader membership of the Organization for their resolute support, which was illustrated recently in the open debate held on 9 July (see S/PV.8569). My country has suffered from the consequences of such links, in particular those between drug trafficking and terrorist groups. Throughout its term as a member of the Security Council, we have encouraged efforts aimed at deepening understanding of the nature and scope of the links between international terrorism and organized crime in order to identify, prevent and dismantle them. However, we acknowledge that both phenomena have different root causes and independent legal frameworks. With today’s resolution, the international community now has a new tool to respond to that major challenge and threat to international security, in keeping with the obligations of States under international law, in particular international humanitarian law, international human rights law and refugee law. The resolution we have adopted today calls on States to better coordinate efforts to strengthen the global response to such links and on the Counter-Terrorism Committee and its Executive Directorate to incorporate those issues in its country analyses and assessments. The new text also highlights the existing links between terrorism and trafficking in drugs, weapons and persons, as well other crimes, such as illicit trafficking in natural resources, metals and minerals. Resolution 2482 (2019) also highlights other aspects, such as the need to strengthen border control, better coordinate cross-border investigations in the case of links between terrorism and organized crime, and improve information-sharing within Governments, between public and private authorities and at the international level. I would also like to stress the importance of promoting good governance and combating corruption. It is essential to strengthen anti-money-laundering and terrorism financing policies, in accordance with the Palermo Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and other relevant instruments. I would like to conclude by underscoring that technical assistance and capacity-building are critical to achieving all those objectives. The resolution therefore also highlights that United Nations entities, in particular the Counter-Terrorism Office and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, will continue to provide support in that area. It also calls on the Secretary-General to report on the subject. I now resume my functions as President of the Security Council. There are no more names inscribed on the list of speakers.