As the world begins to respond to the growing threat of ISIS, the United Nations Security Council met Wednesday and unanimously approved a resolution which forces member states to stop terrorist recruiting and movement within their territories.
President Obama chaired the committee saying, according to the Hill, “I called this meeting because we must come together as nations and as an international community to confront a real and growing threat of foreign terrorist fighters… The historic resolution we just adopted enshrines our commitment to meet this challenge.”
The resolution not only calls for states to stop recruiting and movement within their borders, but also requires states to take precautions to ward off potential terrorist attacks from foreign fighters within their borders.
Foreign fighters, in this instance are defined, according to the International Business Times, as, “Individuals who travel to a State other than their States of residence or nationality for the purpose of the perpetration, planning, or preparation of, or participation in, terrorist acts…” An estimated 12,000 fighters who fit into this definition have already traveled from at least 74 countries to the Middle East to fight on behalf of ISIS.
In addition, the resolution calls for all member states to share information concerning any domestic terrorist concerns with other members. However, there was no definition given as to what constitutes a domestic terrorist, leaving it up to each state to make up their own definition of a “domestic terrorist.”
In order to show how serious the US takes the issue at hand, the US Treasury Department put immediate sanctions in place against 11 individuals and one Indonesian organization. The people and group in question are thought to be sending foreign fighters and funds to Islamic terrorist groups, such as ISIS.
In a statement after the sanctions were passed, David Cohen, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said, according to RT, “These steps, taken the same day as the adoption of a new United Nations Security Council Resolution, affirm the commitment of the United States and our partners to degrade and destroy terrorist access to financing.”
