Security Council Urges Greater Collective Effort to Prevent Terrorists from Acquiring Weapons, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 2370 (2017)
The Security Council today urged Member States to act cooperatively to prevent terrorists from acquiring weapons and called upon them to counter threats posed by improvised explosive devices and to become party to related international and regional instruments.
Unanimously adopting resolution 2370 (2017), the Council reaffirmed its previous decision in resolution 1373 (2001) that all States should refrain from providing any form of support to those involved in terrorist acts, including by eliminating the supply of weapons to terrorists. The Council also encouraged Member States to take appropriate steps to prevent and disrupt activity that would violate Council-mandated arms embargos and reaffirmed its intention to strengthen relevant arms embargoes’ monitoring mechanisms.
Also by the resolution, the Council urged Member States to ensure their ability to take legal action against those who were providing terrorists with weapons and ensure the proper security and management of stockpiles of small arms and light weapons. The Council also urged the implementation of marking and tracing procedures for weapons and the strengthening of judicial, law enforcement and border-control capabilities.
Focusing on improvised explosive devices, the Council called upon Member States to enhance their institutional capabilities and resources for preventing and countering those threats, including by collaborating with the private sector. The Council further encouraged Member States to share information, establish partnerships and develop national strategies and capabilities to counter such weapons.
Further to the text, the Council directed the Counter-Terrorism Committee, with the support of the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate, to examine Member States’ efforts to eliminate the supply of weapons to terrorists and directed the 1267/1989/2253 ISIL and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee and the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team to continue to focus on the threat of supplying weapons to designated terrorists groups.
Briefing the Council via videoconference before the resolution’s adoption, Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), stressed the need to further strengthen cross-border partnerships and operational responses, involve diverse stakeholders — including the private sector — and tailor assistance to address gaps in capacity. As the United Nations’ lead agency tasked with coordinating terrorism prevention efforts, UNODC remained fully engaged through its integrated country, regional and global programmes and network of field offices.
Weixiong Chen, Acting Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, stressed the need to properly control weapons held by defence and security forces, prevent the flow of weapons to conflict zones, strengthen expert training, implement arms embargoes and expand partnerships with United Nations entities, international and regional organizations and civil society. He went on to point out that analysis had revealed a number of vulnerabilities regarding terrorists’ access to weapons, such as poor stockpile management and shortcomings in monitoring the production and trade of small arms and light weapons; looting of military arsenals; transnational organized crime; weak border controls; and arms trafficking via the Internet.
Emmanuel Roux, Special Representative of the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) to the United Nation, said firearms used in conflict zones often reappeared on the streets of major cities. Foreign terrorism fighters could exploit the tactics learned on the battlefield, the contacts and supply chains or organized crime groups they once belonged to and new technologies such as 3D printing to access and use weapons. While those challenges may seem daunting, the international community could take steps to counter them, including standardizing end-user export controls, ensuring secure stockpile management and strengthening and implementing strong national legislation. On the front line, officers should work to trace weapons back to their source, as each gun could represent a conflict zone arsenal or have been at the scene of an armed robbery or murder.
Jehangir Khan, Officer in Charge of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism Terrorists, said terrorists relied on legal and illegal supply chains to procure parts, including for improvised explosive devices. The illicit online trade in weapons through the use of the so-called dark web was particularly worrisome. Terrorists had also improved their capabilities to design and manufacture improvised explosive devices out of commercially available dual-use components. As such, the focus must not only be on preventing the illicit trade in arms, but also ensuring that terrorist groups could not acquire essential components through legal or illegal commercial channels, he emphasized.
In the ensuing debate, the representative of the United States said that, despite the Council’s efforts, weapons continued to flow into Yemen, Somalia and elsewhere — an unacceptable stain on the Council’s authority that must be removed. One country, Iran, stood out for its deliberate actions to support terrorist groups, she stressed, adding that terrorist proxies were carrying out the Iranian regime’s will in Iraq and Syria, while with Iran’s support, Hizbullah was preparing for war in Lebanon.
Expressing concern that weapons were being produced in countries that did not have licenses to do so, the representative of the Russian Federation said that, although the Council had called for the need to improve legislation in that area, specifics had not yet been outlined. “Companies only do what States allow them to do,” he said.
Also during the debate, the representative of Sweden said he would have liked to have seen the Council resolution urge all States to accede to the Arms Trade Treaty, as illegal arms usually started as legally produced and traded weapons. Meanwhile, the representative of Senegal said his delegation believed the resolution should have included provisions highlighting States’ obligation to prevent the direct or indirect sale of weapons to terrorists, calling it an obligation that merited the Council’s attention at a time when the international community was mobilizing efforts to prevent terrorists from obtaining weapons.
Also speaking were the representatives of Egypt, United Kingdom, Kazakhstan, Bolivia, Italy, Ethiopia, China, Ukraine, Uruguay, Japan and France.
The meeting started at 10:09 a.m. and ended at 12:15 p.m.
Briefings
YURY FEDOTOV, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), briefing via video link from Vienna, said that preventing terrorists from acquiring weapons, including conventional arms, as well as weapons of mass destruction, was essential to countering terrorism. Terrorists obtained weapons by many means, in all parts of the world, facilitated by access to poorly secured stockpiles, weak border management, the use of online platforms, including hidden marketplaces, and diversion linked to poor transfer controls, he said, adding that illicit weapons trafficking was often associated with other forms of organized crime. Preventing weapons from falling into the hands of terrorists thus presented complex challenges, requiring integrated multifaceted criminal justice responses.
The Office was entrusted with promoting the implementation of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, including its Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, their Parts and Components and Ammunition, he continued. UNODC also supported implementation of the international instruments against terrorism, the conventions on corruption and drugs and the United Nations standards and norms on crime prevention and criminal justice. Further, the Office worked closely with the 1540 Committee and its Group of Experts to prevent the acquisition of weapons of mass destruction by non-State actors.
There remained many challenges to preventing, detecting, investigating and successfully prosecuting illicit trafficking in weapons, including inadequate regulatory environments and data collection, lack of specialized skills and equipment, and lack of coordination within and between countries and regions, he said. There needed to be a further strengthening of cross-border partnerships and operational responses, the further involvement of diverse stakeholders, including the private sector, and tailored assistance to address gaps in capacity. UNODC remained fully engaged in providing comprehensive support through its integrated country, regional and global programmes and network of field offices. The Office supported Governments to curb corruption and money laundering, as well as combat cybercrime and the exploitation of the Internet for terrorist purposes.
JEHANGIR KHAN, Officer in Charge of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, said that the Secretary-General expected that its establishment would lead to stronger coordination methods for addressing terrorism. The possibility of terrorists obtaining lethal technologies and new weapons, including weapons of mass destruction, posed a serious threat to international peace and security, and in that context, prevention was the United Nations core mission. The illicit manufacture and uncontrolled flow of arms, including their parts and ammunition, contributed to terrorism and armed violence. The diversion of arms from Government stockpiles, either through their theft, pilferage or capture of depots was an important source of weapons to terrorist groups and other non-State actors.
Terrorists relied on legal and illegal supply chains to procure parts, including for improvised explosive devices, he said, stressing that the illicit online trade in weapons through the use of the so-called dark web was particularly worrisome. Terrorists had also improved their capabilities to design and manufacture improvised explosive devices out of commercially available dual-use components. As such, the focus must not only be on preventing the illicit trade in arms, but also ensuring that terrorist groups could not acquire essential components through legal or illegal commercial channels. Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) maintained some in-house ability to manufacture rocket launchers and improvised explosive devices on a large scale, and was also using commercially available drones in a variety of ways.
Effective border control, especially of large, unmonitored spaces was critical to preventing the flow of arms to terrorist groups, he continued. In that regard, a working group under the Counter-Terrorism Office was spearheading several capacity-building projects and had launched its Integrated Assistance for Counter-Terrorism initiative in key regions and countries where the flow of arms represented a key challenge. The Counter-Terrorism Office, in collaboration with the Office of Disarmament Affairs, was also implementing a project aimed at helping States in the Lake Chad Basin region address the illicit proliferation and diversion of small arms, light weapons and ammunition to non-State armed groups, including terrorist groups. Further efforts were also under way to actively address the threat of terrorists acquiring and using weapons of mass destruction, and in that respect, the implementation of the obligations under Security Council resolutions 1540 (2004) and 2325 (2016) were vital to preventing non-State actors from acquiring and using nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
WEIXIONG CHEN, Acting Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, said today’s resolution would add tasks to the Directorate’s mandate in preventing terrorists’ access to weapons. Required to monitor, facilitate and promote the implementation of resolutions 1373 (2001), 2178 (2014), 2195 (2014), 2220 (2015), 2253 (2015), 2322 (2016), 2309 (2016) and 2341 (2017), the Directorate supported the policy responses of the Counter‑Terrorism Committee and the Council on a range of issues, and had thus far conducted more than 130 country visits to over 100 States on the Committee’s behalf. Analysis had revealed a number of vulnerabilities regarding terrorists’ access to weapons, such as poor stockpile management and shortcomings in monitoring the production, control, sale, brokerage, export and import of small arms and light weapons; looting of military arsenals; transnational organized crime; weak border controls; deactivated and reactivated weapons; and international arms trade and trafficking via the Internet.
For States, he said further efforts were needed to strengthen national legislation to counter the supply and trafficking of weapons to terrorists, as well as to enhance national control regimes for the possession, use and transfer of weapons. It was also important to ensure that weapons held by defence and security forces were properly controlled, prevent the flow of weapons to conflict zones, strengthen expert training, implement arms embargoes and expand partnerships with United Nations entities, international and regional organizations and civil society.
He said the country visit was a critical tool that enabled the Directorate to assess States’ national counter-terrorism efforts, and specific strengths and weaknesses, as well as promote good practices. Emphasizing that cooperation with other United Nations entities was also critical, he said the Directorate had also contributed to the development of the International Small Arms Control Standards, and the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) Illicit Arms Records and Tracing Management System. It would pay greater attention to new and emerging threats and trends, he added, noting that just last week, it finalized an updated version of the Technical Guide to the implementation of resolutions 1373 (2001), 1624 (2005) and 2178 (2014), among others.
EMMANUEL ROUX, Special Representative of the International Criminal Police Organization to the United Nations, said preventing foreign terrorist fighters from accessing weapons was of utmost importance and stood as one of the five action streams in INTERPOL’s Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. It was vital to mobilize international cooperation not only across regions but also across action domains, ranging from international and domestic legislation to police work in the field. “Today’s threat landscape is one of unprecedented complexity,” he said, noting the convergence between organized crime and terrorism, between old and new technologies and between military and law enforcement efforts.
At present, he continued, firearms used in conflict zones reappeared on the streets of major cities, while foreign terrorism fighters could exploit the tactics learned on the battlefield, the contacts and supply chains or organized crime groups they once belonged to and new technologies such as 3D printing to access and use weapons. While those challenges could seem daunting, the international community could take steps to counter them, including standardizing end-user export controls, ensuring secure stockpile management and strengthening and implementing strong national legislation. On the front line, officers should work to trace weapons back to their source, as each gun could represent a conflict zone arsenal or have been at the scene of an armed robbery or murder.
“Until proven otherwise, a crime gun must be considered part of a larger scheme,” he said, noting that INTERPOL’s Firearms Recovery Protocol — which provides a guide to obtaining the necessary intelligence and investigative leads to trace weapon supplies — was available to all member States. Identifying the make, model, calibre and serial number of a firearm was critical, he said, noting that latent fingerprints and DNA could also be examined where possible using INTERPOL’s forensic databases. Additionally, the ballistics data from inside the gun could be used to link crimes, guns and suspects, with INTERPOL’s Ballistic Information Network offering a means to conduct international searches.
In that regard, he pointed out that preventing foreign terrorist fighters’ access to weapons also built on preventing their mobility across borders, and emphasized the importance of strengthening and integrating border management in line with Council resolution 2178 (2014). Since its adoption, information-sharing about foreign terrorist fighters through INTERPOL channels had soared, and that momentum should be seized; the same applied to known weapons traffickers who might be moving abroad to coordinate shipments and managing their operations. “If flagged through INTERPOL channels, any random search or border control may lead to detection, identification and apprehension of these high-value players,” he said.
Statements
AMR ABDELLATIF ABOULATTA (Egypt), Council President for August, spoke in his national capacity, emphasizing that arming terrorists was an extremely serious matter. “This is a crime no less heinous than the crime of terrorism itself,” he stressed. Supplying arms to terrorists meant supplying them with the means to kill and terrorize people, including women and children. The international community must confront the issue decisively and hold all perpetrators to account. Noting that today’s resolution reaffirmed the commitment of all States to prevent weapons from reaching terrorists and stipulated that the Council would respond if they failed to do so, he pointed out that it also reaffirmed the importance of strengthening legal cooperation toward that end. All Council resolutions on counter-terrorism must be implemented, he stressed, calling for Governments to work together to ensure accountability for those States that did not do so. Egypt had suffered from terrorism. Its experience had led its counter-terrorism efforts through a holistic and multidimensional approach.
MATTHEW RYCROFT (United Kingdom) said there was no greater challenge to the international community than the unrelenting scourge of terror. Mosul, with its ruined buildings and ruined lives, had demonstrated that weapons in the wrong hands had dire consequences. ISIL/Da’esh had left behind a “city littered with booby traps”, he continued, adding that the United Kingdom was committed to combating the use of improvised explosive devices and landmines. More must be done to combat the illicit trafficking of small arms and to prevent “the moment a legal weapon is diverted to illegal use”. Emphasizing that the Arms Trade Treaty was a robust and effective tool, and must be used to its full extent to regulate the arms trade, he called on all Member States to sign the pact. The words in today’s resolution were only as good as their implementation. “It is not simply good enough to express support if we are unwilling to make it a reality around the world,” he stressed. Recalling the situation in South Sudan, he said the Council had an opportunity to vote on a resolution that would stem the illicit trade of weapons and yet it had failed.
VASSILY ALEKSEEVICH NEBENZIA (Russian Federation), taking the Council floor for the first time in his new capacity, said that fighting terror must be an area where all countries came together to fight the “universal evil”. The creation of the Counter-Terrorism Office would help increase gains in that regard. States must prevent support for terrorists in any form, he said, noting that despite international efforts to counter it, such support had continued. The fight against ISIL/Da’esh had continued to carry on for almost as long as the Second World War. Noting the attack by terrorist groups on the Russian Embassy in Damascus, he said that such an attack was only possible with the large scale, reliable, ongoing and direct assistance of State organizations.
Financial restrictions and border control, which had not been effective thus far, were critical and proposals in that regard had been met with great opposition by some States, he said, stressing: “We are losing an opportunity here to take a joint and effective decision.” Some States were simply “closing their eyes” from seeing whose hands the weapons were falling into. He expressed concern that weapons were being produced in countries that did not have licenses to do so. While the Council had called for the need to improve legislation in that area, specifics had not yet been outlined. “Companies only do what States allow them to do,” he said. In some cases, weapons delivery to terrorists was being organized by Government secret services. That practice was unacceptable. The Russian Federation could continue to work with the United Nations counter-terrorism organizations to combat it.
NIKKI HALEY (United States) noted that the resolution called attention to the obligation of all States to enforce United Nations arms embargoes. Despite the Council’s efforts, weapons continued to flow into Yemen, Somalia and elsewhere. That was an unacceptable stain on the Council’s authority that must be removed. Although great progress had been made against Da’esh and Al-Qaida, weapons continued to find their way into the hands of terrorists. One country, Iran, stood out for its deliberate actions to support terrorist groups. She recalled that, in 1984, the United States had designated Iran as a State sponsor of terrorism. Now, terrorist proxies were carrying out the Iranian regime’s will in Iraq and Syria, while with Iran’s support, Hizbullah was preparing for war in Lebanon through the build-up of a stockpile of weapons and battle-hardened troops. She encouraged the Council to be aware that weapons don’t just “fall” into the hands of terrorists; too often they were pushed. As long as Iran was allowed to violate the Council’s resolutions, it would be a source of weapons for terrorists.
BARLYBAY SADYKOV (Kazakhstan) welcomed the resolution and stressed that the only effective measure to ensure dangerous weapons did not fall into the hands of terrorist groups would be the effective implementation of relevant norms and standards at the international, regional and State levels. There must be measures to disclose and eliminate sources of financing for terrorist groups and when States exported weapons, the mandatory verification of end-user certificates must be carried out. It was necessary to raise the level of security at facilities that housed nuclear, chemical and biological materials and to strengthen the control of personnel that worked at such locations. Kazakhstan supported the improvement of domestic procedures for issuing permits for the transfer of traditional weapons, the harmonization of legislation through regional mechanisms, the improvement of customs procedures and the strengthening of border controls.
CARL SKAU (Sweden) said a coordinated response was needed to eliminate the supply of weapons to terrorists and prevent the illicit arms trade, requiring national law enforcement agencies to share information and ensure adequate marking and tracing procedures. Arms embargoes must also be respected. He would have liked to have seen the Council resolution urge all States to accede to the Arms Trade Treaty, as illegal arms usually started as legally produced and traded weapons. “Irresponsible export can cause as much damage as and lead to illegal flows,” he warned, stressing the need for importing countries to join the Treaty, along with transit countries, which could become “unwitting links” in the shipment of arms to conflict areas. He called today’s resolution a complement to resolution 1540 (2004) as it encompassed conventional arms and the illicit flows of small arms and light weapons.
SACHA SERGIO LLORENTTY SOLÍZ (Bolivia) said today’s adoption demonstrated a critical level of cooperation necessary to fight terrorism. All acts of terrorism were criminal and unjustifiable, independent of their motivation. States must refrain from supplying any kind of support to non-State actors that aimed to acquire, transport or use weapons. Today’s text was an appropriate complement to those efforts, he said, underscoring the need for States to combat the terror scourge in line with United Nations Charter, various international protocols, and human rights conventions. Technical cooperation and assistance to countries must be provided at their request. Countries that produced weapons had a different responsibility than countries that suffered the consequences of those weapons. For its part, Bolivia had enacted a law to control firearms and munitions to prevent, combat and punish crimes relating to weapons trafficking. He also urged Member States to focus on combating the financial mechanisms that made the illicit trade of weapons possible and profitable.
INIGO LAMBERTINI (Italy) said that the illicit trade of small weapons contributed to instability worldwide. Noting that terrorists’ access to light weapons and munitions had been facilitated by the Internet, enabling them to remain anonymous, he stressed the importance of Member States sharing information on terrorist activities. In that regard, Italy had been active with the European Union and continued to offer its cooperation, including through up-to-date technology and stockpile management tips. He stressed the need to make a clear distinction between legal and illegal weapons and said he looked forward to working together with partners toward a strong outcome of the 2018 Review on Small Arms and Light Weapons.
TEKEDA ALEMU (Ethiopia) said the increase in the proliferation of weapons among terrorists due to poor border management and gaps in export control continued to thwart implementation of peacekeeping mandates. The threats posed by improvised explosive devices continued to create enormous challenges. In Somalia, for example, explosive elements had posed a growing threat to peacekeepers and internally displaced persons returning home. The cross-border nature of the challenge required Member States to engage in broader disarmament discussions. States must prevent the supply of weapons to terrorists and must take concrete steps to prevent financing, training and harboring of any terrorists. Meanwhile, the Council must take into account the multifaceted aspects of supporting terrorists and adopt a broader approach, he continued, underlining the critical role of various sanctions committee in eliminating the supply of arms to terrorists.
LIU JIEYI (China) highlighted the need for further international cooperation and a holistic approach to sever the channels used by terrorist organizations to acquire weapons. The international community must use uniform standards to close loopholes that may make weapons available to terrorist organizations. Member States should play their due role by assuming their primary responsibilities in preventing terrorists from acquiring weapons. All countries must enhance control mechanisms and improve supervision over the production, storage, transportation and transfer of weapons and suppress any illicit arms trade, trafficking and smuggling. Countries should also continuously improve their legislation and administrative processes, step up international and regional cooperation and enhance the sharing and exchange of information on the ways through which terrorist organizations acquired weapons.
YEVGEN LISUCHENKO (Ukraine) stressed that the persistence of the terrorist threat made it imperative to strengthen existing mechanisms for prohibiting the acquisition, production, storage, transfer or use of weapons by terrorist groups. There were alarming signs that sophisticated weapons were within reach of determined terrorist groups, which required the implementation of strict measures at the national level to strengthen export and border controls, particularly regulations on the transfer of weapons and other sensitive military equipment or materials, as well as the strengthening of financial intelligence cooperation. The international regime aimed at curbing the supply of arms to terrorists ran into a problem when States breached their international obligations and commitments to uphold it. In that context, he called attention to the continuous flow from the neighbouring State of various weapons systems into the occupied territories in the east of Ukraine.
FODÉ SECK (Senegal) noted that terrorists generated and transferred funds, developed effective communications strategies and recruited and trained combatants to carry out operations, yet they still needed to acquire weapons and the technical and logical wherewithal to carry out their actions. Senegal supported the resolution with the hope that it could contribute to efforts to prevent terrorism. His delegation believed that the resolution should have included provisions highlighting States’ obligation to prevent the direct or indirect sale of weapons to terrorists. That obligation merited the attention of the Security Council at a time when the international community was mobilizing efforts to prevent terrorists from obtaining weapons. He further stressed that the return of foreign terrorist fighters represented one of the international community’s most pressing challenges.
ELBIO ROSSELLI (Uruguay) said that while States were primarily responsible for adopting national legislation to prevent and combating illicit trafficking of weapons, they also had a shared responsibility to work together in the face of the global terrorist threat. However, responsibilities varied among States, as some were the root of the problem in the production and distribution of weapons. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the five permanent members of the Security Council had supplied 75 per cent of exported weapons between 2011 and 2015. For its part, Uruguay had joined several international and subregional legal instruments that facilitated information‑sharing on the illicit trafficking of weapons. Uruguay was also partner to the Arms Trade Treaty, he added, calling on all countries to ratify the document. The problem of illicit trafficking of weapons required collective international cooperation with a particular emphasis on national capacity-building.
YASUHISA KAWAMURA (Japan) encouraged States to strengthen their capabilities to prevent terrorists from acquiring weapons and to support such efforts in other countries. Japan had supported capacity-building in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and was working with INTERPOL and UNODC, among others, to enhance their capacity to counter improvised explosive devices. In March, Japan provided $3.5 million to the World Customs Organization to help authorities in South and South-East Asia, and the Pacific Islands investigate the illicit trafficking of precursors to improvised explosive devices at land and sea borders. Expressing strong support for the implementation and universalization of the Arms Trade Treaty, which had not been incorporated into the resolution, he called on countries that had not done so to ratify the Treaty as soon as possible.
FRANÇOIS DELATTRE (France) said events around the world had been a constant reminder of the threat posed by the illicit trade of weapons. His country had directly experienced such attacks over the past few years. Several of those incidents had been carried out with the use of weapons acquired in the illicit trade. Small arms and light weapons and improvised explosive devices had been subject of particular efforts by France for some years. The United Nations Programme of Action on small arms and light weapons was an ideal framework to guide efforts, for example, to improve legislation on small arms. Despite that progress, however, many challenges remained. The third Small Arms Review Conference would hopefully mobilize actors to enhance synergies of existing treaties. He also underscored several regional initiatives and bilateral efforts aimed at making progress in the area of combating improvised explosive devices. Improving the physical management of munitions stockpile was also critical. Today’s resolution marked an important step towards all of that, he added, calling upon all countries to ratify the Arms Trade Treaty as soon as possible.
Resolution
The full text of resolution 2370 (2017) reads as follows:
“The Security Council,
“Recalling its resolutions 1267 (1999), 1373 (2001), 1844 (2008), 1963 (2010), 2129 (2013), 2195 (2014), 2220 (2015), 2253 (2015), 2322 (2016), 2341 (2017), 2368 (2017),
“Reaffirming its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations,
“Reaffirming its respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of all States in accordance with the United Nations Charter,
“Reaffirming that terrorism in all forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security and that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable regardless of their motivations, whenever, wherever and by whomsoever committed, and remaining determined to contribute further to enhancing the effectiveness of the overall effort to fight this scourge on a global level,
“Reaffirming that terrorism should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilization or ethnic group,
“Stressing also that States must ensure that any measures taken to combat terrorism comply with all their obligations under international law, and should adopt such measures in accordance with international law, in particular international human rights law, refugee law, and humanitarian law,
“Gravely concerned that the illicit transfer, destabilizing accumulation and misuse of small arms and light weapons in many regions of the world continue to pose threats to international peace and security, causes significant loss of life, contribute to instability and insecurity and continue to undermine the effectiveness of the Security Council in discharging its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security,
“Strongly condemning the continued flow of weapons, including small arms and light weapons, military equipment, unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) and their components, and improvised explosive device (IED) components to and between ISIL (also known as Da’esh), Al-Qaida, their affiliates, and associated groups, illegal armed groups and criminals, and encouraging Member States to prevent and disrupt procurement networks for such weapons, systems and components between ISIL (also known as Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals, groups, undertakings and entities,
“Recognizing that the illicit transfer, theft from national stockpiles and illicit craft production can be a source of small arms and light weapons which can enable terrorist groups to considerably increase their armed capabilities,
“Noting with grave concern the increasing and frequent global use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in terrorist attacks,
“Stressing the paramount need to prevent illegal armed groups, terrorists and other unauthorized recipients from, and identify the networks that support them in, obtaining, handling, financing, storing, using or seeking access to all types of explosives, whether military or civilian, as well as other military or civilian materials and components that can be used to manufacture improvised explosive devices, including detonators, detonating cords and chemical components, while at the same time avoiding any undue restrictions on the legitimate use of those materials,
“Stressing that the active participation and collaboration of all States and international, regional and subregional organizations is needed to impede, impair, isolate, and incapacitate the terrorist threat, and emphasizing the importance of implementing the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (GCTS), contained in General Assembly resolution 60/288 of 8 September 2006, and its subsequent reviews,
“Expressing concern at the increased use, in a globalized society, by terrorists and their supporters of new information and communications technologies, in particular the Internet, to facilitate terrorist acts, as well as their use to incite, recruit, fund, or plan terrorist acts,
“Reiterating its call upon Member States to continue information-sharing, through appropriate channels and arrangements, and consistent with international and domestic law, on individuals and entities implicated in terrorist activities, in particular their supply of weapons and sources of material support, and on the ongoing international counter- terrorism cooperation including among special services, security agencies and law enforcement organizations and criminal justice authorities,
“Acknowledging the important contribution of relevant Council-mandated arms embargoes in helping to eliminate the supply of small arms and light weapons to terrorists, and noting the need to improve information sharing on possible arms embargo violations between groups of experts, peacekeeping missions within their mandates and other relevant United Nations entities,
“Reaffirming its resolution 1373 (2001) and in particular its decisions that all States shall prevent and suppress the financing of terrorist acts and refrain from providing any form of support, active or passive, to entities or persons involved in terrorist acts, including by suppressing recruitment of members of terrorist groups and eliminating the supply of weapons to terrorists,
“Reaffirming the importance of full implementation of resolutions 2199 (2015), 2253 (2015) and 2368 (2017),
“Urging all States, including States where ISIL is present, to prevent any trade, economic, and financial ties with ISIL (also known as Da’esh), Al-Qaida, and associated individuals, groups, undertakings, and entities, including through enhancing their border security efforts,
“Recognizing the value of the ‘Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects’, including measures aiming at achieving effective physical security and management of stockpiles of small arms and light weapons, as an important means to contribute to eliminating the supply of weapons to terrorists,
“Noting with appreciation the efforts made by Member States, intergovernmental, regional and subregional organizations in addressing threats to international peace and security posed by the illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons to terrorists, and noting the significant role of civil society and the private sector in supporting such efforts,
“Noting the continuing coordination on counter-terrorism efforts between the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) supported by the Counter Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) and International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), the World Customs Organization (WCO), the United Nations Office on Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in particular on technical assistance and capacity-building, the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and all other United Nations bodies, and encouraging their further engagement with the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (OCT) to ensure overall coordination and coherence in the counter-terrorism efforts of the United Nations system,
“1. Reaffirms its decision in resolution 1373 (2001) that all States shall refrain from providing any form of support, active or passive, to entities or persons involved in terrorist acts, including by eliminating the supply of weapons to terrorists, and stresses the importance of full and effective implementation of the relevant resolutions and appropriately addressing the issues related to the lack thereof;
“2. Calls upon all states to consider becoming party to the related international and regional instruments, with a view to help eliminate the supply of weapons to terrorists, and to fully implement their respective obligations under those to which they are a party;
“3. Reaffirms its intention to take appropriate measures, when needed, to strengthen relevant arms embargoes’ monitoring mechanisms which can help ensure the elimination of the supply of weapons to terrorists, in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions;
“4. Encourages Member States to take appropriate steps in accordance with international law to prevent and disrupt activity that would result in violations of relevant Council-mandated arms embargoes;
“5. Recognizes the need for Member States to undertake appropriate measures consistent with international law to address the illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons, in particular to terrorists, including by enhancing, where appropriate and consistent with their domestic legal frameworks, national systems for collection and analysis of detailed data on illicit trafficking of such weapons to terrorists, and putting in place, where they do not exist, adequate laws, regulations and administrative procedures to exercise effective control over the production, export, import, brokering, transit or retransfer of small arms and light weapons within their areas of jurisdiction, taking into consideration the ‘Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects’ in order to prevent the illicit trafficking to terrorists of such weapons;
“6. Urges Member States to undertake, as appropriate, the following measures, on the national level, to eliminate the supply of weapons to terrorists:
(a) Ensure the ability to take appropriate legal actions against those who are knowingly engaged in providing terrorists with weapons;
(b) Ensure proper physical security and management for stockpiles of small arms and light weapons;
(c) Encourage the implementation of marking and tracing procedures of small arms and light weapons to improve traceability of such weapons which could be provided to terrorists through illicit trafficking;
(d) Strengthen, where appropriate, their judicial, law enforcement and border-control capacities, and developing their investigation capabilities of arms-trafficking networks to address the link between transnational organized crime and terrorism;
“7. Emphasizes the importance of Member States taking appropriate measures, at the national, regional and international levels, in accordance with international law, and consistent with their domestic legal framework, to prevent the illicit trafficking of weapons to terrorists in conflict areas, and to prevent, within this context, looting or acquiring small arms and light weapons from national stockpiles by terrorists, and stresses in this regard on the importance of assisting States in those regions to enable them to monitor and control stockpiles of small arms and light weapons, in order to prevent terrorists from acquiring them;
“8. Urges Member States to enhance, as appropriate, international and regional cooperation regarding training on good practices, in coordination with the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and the World Customs Organization;
“9. Urges Member States to fully implement the ‘Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects’ and the International Tracing Instrument in order to assist in preventing terrorists from acquiring small arms and light weapons, in particular in conflict and post-conflict areas;
“10. Calls upon Member States to raise awareness to the threats of IEDs, and enhance the institutional capabilities and resources for preventing and countering such threats, including by collaborating with the private sector;
“11. Recalls its decision that Member States, in order to prevent ISIL (also known as Da’esh), Al-Qaida, and associated individuals, groups, undertakings, and entities from obtaining, handling, storing, using or seeking access to all types of explosives, whether military, civilian or improvised explosives, as well as to raw materials and components that can be used to manufacture IEDs or unconventional weapons, including (but not limited to) chemical components, detonators, detonating cord, or poisons, shall undertake appropriate measures to promote the exercise of enhanced vigilance by their nationals, persons subject to their jurisdiction and entities incorporated in their territory or subject to their jurisdiction that are involved in the production, sale, supply, purchase, transfer and storage of such materials, including through the issuance of good practices, and further encourages Member States to share information, establish partnerships, and develop national strategies and capabilities to counter IEDs;
“12. Encourages Member States, as appropriate, to strengthen cooperation and the exchange of good practices with civil society, the public and private sectors, including with representatives of industry in combating the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in small arms and light weapons and improvised explosive devices, including awareness-raising;
“13. Urges Member States to act cooperatively to prevent terrorists from acquiring weapons, including through information and communications technologies, while respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms and in compliance with obligations under international law, and stresses the importance of cooperation with civil society and the private sector in this endeavor, including through establishing public private partnerships;
“14. Stresses the importance of international cooperation to prevent and eliminate the supply of weapons to terrorists, and encourages Member States in this regard to enhance in particular their judicial and law enforcement cooperation, consistent with their international obligations and domestic legal framework;
“15. Emphasizes the importance of enhancing cooperation and coordination among the relevant UN entities, and in particular the relevant Security Council sanctions committees and subsidiary bodies, to assist in preventing any form of support, active or passive, to entities or persons involved in terrorist acts, including by eliminating the supply of weapons to terrorists;
“16. Directs the Counter Terrorism Committee (CTC), with the support of the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED) to continue as appropriate, within their respective mandates, to examine Member States efforts to eliminate the supply of weapons to terrorists, as relevant to the implementation of resolution 1373 (2001) with the aim of identifying good practices, gaps and vulnerabilities in this field;
“17. Encourages in this regard the CTC, with the support of CTED, as well as the UNOCT to continue working together to facilitate technical assistance and capacity building and to raise awareness in the field of eliminating the supply of weapons to terrorists, in particular by strengthening its dialogue with States and relevant international, regional and subregional organizations and working closely, including by sharing information, with relevant bilateral and multilateral technical assistance providers;
“18. Directs the 1267/1989/2253 ISIL (also known as Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee and the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, to continue to focus, including in its reports and updates, on the threat of supplying weapons to ISIL, (also known as Da’esh), Al-Qaida, and associated individuals, groups, undertakings, and entities;
“19. Encourages the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team to coordinate its efforts to monitor and respond to the threat posed by supplying weapons to ISIL, (also known as Da’esh), Al-Qaida, and associated individuals, groups, undertakings, and entities, with other United Nations counter-terrorism bodies, in particular CTED, as well as with the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA);
“20. Decides to remain seized of the matter.”