Author: Pranab DhalSamanta
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: June 12, 2011
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/alarm-in-delhi-as-west-moves-to-separate-taliban-qaeda-in-un-list/802436/0
Introduction: India fear bid to win over Taliban
may end up benefiting LeT
Alarm bells have begun to ring in New Delhi
after the US and European countries recently moved a draft UN Security Council
resolution to separate the Taliban from al-Qaeda in the UN sanctions regime,
which could make it easier to "de-list" entities in future.
The consolidated sanctions list under UNSC
Resolution 1267 on the 'al-Qaeda and the Taliban and Associated Individuals
and Entities' as of now also contains India-specific groups like the Lashkar-e-Toiba,
its key individuals, and the Jaish-e-Mohammed. They have been put down as
al-Qaeda affiliates.
The political objective behind the move, sources
said, is to aid the reconciliation process with the Taliban in Afghanistan
after communication channels were established with some Taliban leaders. But
India is concerned that this change could dilute the well-established UN sanctions
regime.
The concern stems from the fact that the
proposal on the table has a sunset clause, which conditions continuation of
the regime to periodic reviews. This could mean that India may have to continuously
provide fresh information to keep someone like Lashkar founder Hafiz Mohammed
Saeed on the list.
The proposal has sparked a heated debate within
the sanctions committee, which is made up of all 15 members of the UN Security
Council.
India is not worried so much about the larger
objective as about the manner in which these changes might be executed. Sources
explained that splitting up the list would not be easy, given that these entities
overlap in many ways on the ground. Presumably, the de-listing process in
the Taliban list could be made easier for political purposes, and might conceivably
be misused.
India has had problems getting entities listed
under the 1267 regime, with China still to lift its official hold on proscribing
JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar and LeT members Azam Cheema and Abdul Rahman
Makki. China had even put a hold on listing Hafiz Saeed and Zaki-ur-Rehman
Lakhvi, but had to withdraw after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. Any break-up
or dilution of the regime could provide more avenues for either delaying or
denying immediate action on an entity.
While these are still early days in the debate,
it is learnt that India has already warned against diminishing the impact
of the sanctions regime. Resolution 1267 guarantees the most comprehensive
collective action against terror entities.
Once designated by this committee, all states
are required to freeze the assets of the individual or entity concerned, prevent
entry or transit through their territories and prevent the direct or indirect
supply, sale and transfer of arms and military equipment to any of these entities.
"The primary responsibility for the implementation
of the sanctions measures rests with member states and effective implementation
is mandatory," states the Resolution, which was came about in 1999 but
was given more teeth through a series of resolutions after 9/11.
Over the years, cases have been filed in various
human rights courts, particularly in the European Union, against aspects of
the sanctions regime. Courts, sources said, have often taken a sympathetic
view on persons who are old or dead but continue to be on the list. An office
of the ombudsman has been created within the 1267 sanctions committee to remove
such persons from the list.
But clearly, many European powers want further
"safeguards".
