UN Council creates ombudsman to analyze list of terror suspects

Thu, 17 Dec 2009

New York - The United Nations Security Council on Thursday established the post of ombudsman to analyze the delisting of terrorist suspects from the UN list of more than 500 al-Qaeda and Taliban members. The unanimous decision of the 15-nation council was prompted by repeated criticism that the list may have contained non suspects and that their human rights may have been violated. The list was created after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States.

But the council also adopted a resolution strengthening sanctions against terrorist suspects and individuals with ties to al-Qaeda and the Taliban, a task given to governments to implement.

The ombudsman will analyze the available information and assist a UN committee charged with creating the list address requests for delisting a person. Once removed from the list, a person will not fall under the sanctions regime imposed by the council.

The council ordered the freezing of economic assets of suspects on the list. It also imposed a travel ban and arms embargo on al-Qaeda and Taliban suspects.

Amnesty International welcomed the new post, but said the council's decision fell short of an "an independent and effective review mechanism mandated to examine delisting requests and to provide relief, namely lifting of the measures imposed, to those unfairly listed."

Human rights groups said several individuals have sued because their names were on the UN list.