1267 BRIEFING:STATISTICAL UPDATE ON KEY TASKS

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000659 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EFIN ETTC PREL PTER KTFN UNSC SUBJECT: 1267 BRIEFING:STATISTICAL UPDATE ON KEY TASKS ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The chair of the Al-Qaeda/Taliban Sanctions Committee ("1267 Committee"),Austrian Perm Rep Mayr-Harting, held an open briefing for UN Member States to discuss the Committee's activities and "enhance the transparency" of the Committee's work. He focused on two main tasks mandated in UN Security Council Resolution 1822: 1) the process of reviewing the appropriateness of five hundred or so individuals and entities on the 1267 List, and 2) the production of publicly-releasable "narrative summaries" supporting the listing for each entry. Mayr-Harting reported that the Committee circulated to designating states and states of residence/nationality three out of five batches of names for review. He highlighted criticism from Member States due to 168 entries on the 1267 List lacking vital information (e.g., bio-identifiers). Richard Barrett, coordinator of the 1267 Monitoring Team who was also present and reported that, the Committee has approved 64 narrative summaries, all of which are already posted on the Committee's website. Mayr-Harting also elaborated on the Committee's other activities to improve implementation. Barrett explained his team's endeavors to support the Committee and develop recommendations for enhanced implementation. END SUMMARY. REVIEW PROCESS: THREE OF FIVE BATCHES OUT -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On July 1, Austrian Perm Rep Thomas Mayr-Harting held an open briefing for all UN Member States on recent activities of the Al-Qaeda/Taliban Sanctions Committee ("1267 Committee"). Mayr-Harting explained that the open briefing was to "enhance the transparency" of the Committee's work. He stated that the Committee's main focus in 2009 has been the implementation of Resolution 1822, which was adopted in 2008 to renew the sanctions regime and introduce a number of new procedures and requirements to safeguard the rights of listed individuals and entities. He explained that the Committee's work in this regard was divided into two major tasks: 1) reviewing the over 500 names on the Consolidated List by June 30, 2010, to determine whether they were still appropriate, and 2) creating publicly-releasable "narrative summaries" supporting each listing. ¶3. (SBU) Mayr-Harting explained that the Committee had begun the mandatory review by first dividing the names on the Consolidated List into five batches. The Committee circulated the first batch (consisting of 52 names) to 29 designated states and states of residence/nationality December 19, 2008. Among the names in this first batch, Mayr-Harting reported that thirty have since replied, four said that they needed more time, and thirty-five did not answer. The Committee circulated the second batch (106 names),to 69 reviewing states on February 25, 2009, and the third batch (129 names) on May 29 to 31 reviewing states. The Committee will send two final batches of names in August and November 2009. ¶4. (SBU) Since the adoption of Resolution 1822, Mayr-Harting said, the Consolidated List has grown (as of July 1, 2009) to a total of 513 listings, which includes 402 individuals and 111 entities designated. Of the 402 individuals on the Consolidated List, 300 have been identified as being associated with Al-Qaeda and 102 with the Taliban. In 2009, Mayr-Harting said, the Committee considered one delisting request, which in the end, it rejected. NARRATIVE SUMMARIES: 64 OF 513 APPROVED -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Mayr-Harting explained that, pursuant to paragraph 13 of Resolution 1822, the Committee is now developing "narrative summaries" containing reasons behind each entry on the Consolidated List. Each narrative summary, he said, includes the date of listing, reasons supporting it, and any other relevant information that States would provide during the review process. The 1267 Monitoring Team, he said, uses the information available to the Committee to create a first draft of the narrative summary, which is then sent to the designating state for its review. The designating state is given three months to accept or make changes to the draft, after which the Monitoring Team sends to the Committee for its approval. After approval, the narrative summaries are posted to the Committee's website. Mayr-Harting emphasized that these narrative summaries enhance the transparency of the designations process and allow everyone to see the information supporting the List. ¶6. (SBU) Richard Barrett, coordinator of the 1267 Monitoring Team, explained that of the 513 names on the Consolidated List, the Committee had approved 64 narrative summaries that were also posted to the Committee's website. He reported that an additional 177 draft narrative summaries were with the designating state for their review and that the Committee was currently considering 40 summaries. The Committee has not yet written first drafts for the remaining 232 entries. PROBLEM OF BAD ENTRIES -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Mayr-Harting noted that some entries on the Consolidated List lack vital identifying information needed to ensure implementation of asset freezes and travel bans. He claimed that at least 168 of the 513 entries cannot be implemented effectively due to the lack of such information. Mayr-Harting specified that 56 individuals on the Consolidated List are missing bio-identifiers such as their full name and date of birth (14 of whom have only one name listed) and 38 are believed to be dead (26 of whom have had news of their deaths published). ¶8. (SBU) Mayr-Harting noted with regret that all these questionable listings remain on the Consolidated List, adding that these examples undermine the credibility of the review process as well as the Committee. Mayr-Harting also commented that the Committee needs to either improve and update the list, which it is currently doing by reviewing each name one at a time, or remove it altogether. COMMITTEE/MONITORING TEAM SEEK TO IMPROVE IMPLEMENTATION -------------- -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Mayr-Harting said that the Committee finished reviewing the forty recommendations suggested by the 1267 Monitoring Team for improving the implementation of the measures. The Committee will prepare and submit a report on its activities to the Security Council by the end of July, making it the tenth annual report since the Committee's establishment in 1999. ¶10. (SBU) Barrett reported further on the Monitoring Team's efforts to support the Committee, including through the drafting of a recent report covering the implementation of the sanctions, new threats, a review of the Committee's procedures and the legal challenges facing the 1267 sanctions committee. Noting the Monitoring Team's mandate to "promote interaction between the Member States and the Committee", he said that the Team has visited 26 states. Moreover, Barrett added, the Monitoring Team has been working on a new format for the Consolidated List, which includes a modified coversheet so that states can provide additional information about their listings. RICE