TERRORIST FINANCE: BUISIR PRENOTIFICATION

S E C R E T DUBLIN 000409 SIPDIS STATE FOR EB/ESC/TFS (M. BRUNO),S/CT (T. KUSHNER), EUR/UBI, IO/OSC (B. FITZGERALD) TREASURY FOR (J. ZARATE),OFAC DIRECTOR (R. WERNER) STATE PASS TO NSC (K. EMERSON) E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/07/2015 TAGS: PTER KTFN EFIN ECON ETTC EAID TC SUBJECT: TERRORIST FINANCE: BUISIR PRENOTIFICATION REF: SECSTATE 61751 Classified By: DCM Jonathon Benton for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (S) On April 7, Maurice Biggar, acting director of the DFA's UN office, and Stephan Dawson, deputy director of the Middle East office, briefed POL/ECON counselor on the hurdles the GOI would have to jump in order to co-sponsor submission of Buisir to the UN 1267 Committee. Because Buisir is an Irish citizen, the GOI's lawyers would need to offer a legal opinion on whether the GOI could co-sponsor, and might need to appeal to the Attorney General. The process could take several weeks "or months." The GOI fears that co-sponsoring the submission would leave them open to lawsuits, and would generate strong political criticism. They believe parliament would excoriate them for "sneakily" using international mechanisms to get at an Irish citizen rather than building a criminal case against Buisir or using the recently signed anti-terrorism law to ask Irish judges to designate him. ¶2. (S) POL/ECON counselor asked them to set aside legal questions and consider the political advantages of co-sponsoring, given their own concerns about Buisir and their strong commitment to the UN. Their candid assessment was that the USG could secure designation far more quickly without Irish help. POL/ECON counselor urged them to re-consider, and asked as well that they issue a supportive statement if the UN 1267 Committee designates Buisir. Biggar and Dawson agreed to raise these issues with the Political Director and Foreign Minister when they return April 8. (FM, political director, and UN office director have been in New York since Monday, preparing for their role in UN reform.) KENNY