Statement by UK Political Coordinator Fergus Eckersley at
the UN Security Council meeting on the subsidiary bodies of the
Security Council.
Thank you, President, thank you for the Chairs for this briefing,
and for your combined leadership of our counter-terrorist
efforts. The Council has been lucky to have such effective and
dynamic chairmanship, and chairwomanship, from the UAE, Malta,
and Ecuador through the course of the year.
The UK is particularly grateful to the new Chair of the 1540
Committee for his drive since Ecuador took on this role at the
start of the year. We commend the Chair for securing Committee
agreement for a programme of work to take forward the actions
agreed in Security Council Resolution 2663 and we welcome the
Chair’s intention for the Committee to develop voluntary
guidelines.
However, despite the best intentions of the Chair and the
constructive approach by the majority of Committee Members,
progress and provision of support to States has once again been
impeded.
It is disappointing that two members have maintained their hold
on the process to replace the 1540 Committee Group of Experts
since April of this year, and that a Permanent Member is now
blocking the Committee’s external engagement activities.
This situation severely undermines our ability to support states
to implement a resolution that is designed to prevent chemical,
biological, and nuclear weapons and related material getting into
the hands of non-state actors, including
terrorists.
It is hard to understand why any country – let alone a Permanent
Member of this Council – would want to stymie those efforts.
The UK appreciates the continued efforts of the Counter-Terrorism
Committee and its Chair to tackle the global scourge of terrorism
and protect all of our citizens. The terrorist threat is evolving
and remains with us.
Terrorist groups, including Al-Qaeda and Daesh affiliates,
continue to seek to spread hatred and fear around the world using
new technologies and taking advantage of regional instability.
The work of the Counter-Terrorism Committee has to evolve to stay
ahead of this. For our work to be effective, the perspectives of
technical experts, civil society, and the private sector are
invaluable.
We also commend the work of the 1267 Committee and its Chair. The
Monitoring Team’s analysis of the evolving threat and
effectiveness of sanctions remains a crucial resource for Member
States. We welcome work by the Chair, Secretariat and
Ombudsperson to uphold transparency and due process. These are
critical to ensure that the 1267 regime retains the broad support
and legitimacy that it needs.
President, despite the distinct mandates for each of the
Committees, they share a common purpose – to tackle the
persistent and significant threat to international peace and
security posed by terrorist groups and non-state actors.
Only through the effective and coordinated implementation of the
mandates of these three Committees can we address the threat
together. We must redouble these efforts.
