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DE RUCNDT #0659/01 1891054
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O 081054Z JUL 09 ZFF4
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC NIACT IMMEDIATE 6866
INFO RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD IMMEDIATE 2416
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL IMMEDIATE 0282
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI IMMEDIATE 2720
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UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000659 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EFIN ETTC PREL PTER KTFN UNSC
SUBJECT: 1267 BRIEFING:STATISTICAL UPDATE ON KEY TASKS 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: The chair of the Al-Qaeda/Taliban 
Sanctions Committee ("1267 Committee"), Austrian Perm Rep 
Mayr-Harting, held an open briefing for UN Member States to 
discuss the Committee's activities and "enhance the 
transparency" of the Committee's work.  He focused on two 
main tasks mandated in UN Security Council Resolution 1822: 
1) the process of reviewing the appropriateness of five 
hundred or so individuals and entities on the 1267 List, and 
2) the production of publicly-releasable "narrative 
summaries" supporting the listing for each entry. 
Mayr-Harting reported that the Committee circulated to 
designating states and states of residence/nationality three 
out of five batches of names for review.  He highlighted 
criticism from Member States due to 168 entries on the 1267 
List lacking vital information (e.g., bio-identifiers). 
Richard Barrett, coordinator of the 1267 Monitoring Team who 
was also present and reported that, the Committee has 
approved 64 narrative summaries, all of which are already 
posted on the Committee's website.  Mayr-Harting also 
elaborated on the Committee's other activities to improve 
implementation.  Barrett explained his team's endeavors to 
support the Committee and develop recommendations for 
enhanced implementation.  END SUMMARY. 
 
REVIEW PROCESS: THREE OF FIVE BATCHES OUT 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On July 1, Austrian Perm Rep Thomas Mayr-Harting 
held an open briefing for all UN Member States on recent 
activities of the Al-Qaeda/Taliban Sanctions Committee ("1267 
Committee").  Mayr-Harting explained that the open briefing 
was to "enhance the transparency" of the Committee's work. 
He stated that the Committee's main focus in 2009 has been 
the implementation of Resolution 1822, which was adopted in 
2008 to renew the sanctions regime and introduce a number of 
new procedures and requirements to safeguard the rights of 
listed individuals and entities.  He explained that the 
Committee's work in this regard was divided into two major 
tasks: 1) reviewing the over 500 names on the Consolidated 
List by June 30, 2010, to determine whether they were still 
appropriate, and 2) creating publicly-releasable "narrative 
summaries" supporting each listing. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Mayr-Harting explained that the Committee had begun 
the mandatory review by first dividing the names on the 
Consolidated List into five batches. The Committee circulated 
the first batch (consisting of 52 names) to 29 designated 
states and states of residence/nationality December 19, 2008. 
 Among the names in this first batch, Mayr-Harting reported 
that thirty have since replied, four said that they needed 
more time, and thirty-five did not answer. The Committee 
circulated the second batch (106 names), to 69 reviewing 
states on February 25, 2009, and the third batch (129 names) 
on May 29 to 31 reviewing states. The Committee will send two 
final batches of names in August and November 2009. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Since the adoption of Resolution 1822, Mayr-Harting 
said, the Consolidated List has grown (as of July 1, 2009) to 
a total of 513 listings, which includes 402 individuals and 
111 entities designated.  Of the 402 individuals on the 
Consolidated List, 300 have been identified as being 
associated with Al-Qaeda and 102 with the Taliban. In 2009, 
Mayr-Harting said, the Committee considered one delisting 
request, which in the end, it rejected. 
 
NARRATIVE SUMMARIES: 64 OF 513 APPROVED 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Mayr-Harting explained that, pursuant to paragraph 
13 of Resolution 1822, the Committee is now developing 
"narrative summaries" containing reasons behind each entry on 
the Consolidated List.  Each narrative summary, he said, 
includes the date of listing, reasons supporting it, and any 
other relevant information that States would provide during 
the review process.  The 1267 Monitoring Team, he said, uses 
the information available to the Committee to create a first 
draft of the narrative summary, which is then sent to the 
designating state for its review.  The designating state is 
given three months to accept or make changes to the draft, 
after which the Monitoring Team sends to the Committee for 
its approval.  After approval, the narrative summaries are 
posted to the Committee's website.  Mayr-Harting emphasized 
that these narrative summaries enhance the transparency of 
the designations process and allow everyone to see the 
information supporting the List. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Richard Barrett, coordinator of the 1267 Monitoring 
Team, explained that of the 513 names on the Consolidated 
List, the Committee had approved 64 narrative summaries that 
were also posted to the Committee's website. He reported that 
an additional 177 draft narrative summaries were with the 
designating state for their review and that the Committee was 
currently considering 40 summaries.  The Committee has not 
yet written first drafts for the remaining 232 entries. 
 
PROBLEM OF BAD ENTRIES 
---------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Mayr-Harting noted that some entries on the 
Consolidated List lack vital identifying information needed 
to ensure implementation of asset freezes and travel bans. 
He claimed that at least 168 of the 513 entries cannot be 
implemented effectively due to the lack of such information. 
Mayr-Harting specified that 56 individuals on the 
Consolidated List are missing bio-identifiers such as their 
full name and date of birth (14 of whom have only one name 
listed) and 38 are believed to be dead (26 of whom have had 
news of their deaths published). 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Mayr-Harting noted with regret that all these 
questionable listings remain on the Consolidated List, adding 
that these examples undermine the credibility of the review 
process as well as the Committee.  Mayr-Harting also 
commented that the Committee needs to either improve and 
update the list, which it is currently doing by reviewing 
each name one at a time, or remove it altogether. 
 
COMMITTEE/MONITORING TEAM SEEK TO IMPROVE IMPLEMENTATION 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Mayr-Harting said that the Committee finished 
reviewing the forty recommendations suggested by the 1267 
Monitoring Team for improving the implementation of the 
measures.  The Committee will prepare and submit a report on 
its activities to the Security Council by the end of July, 
making it the tenth annual report since the Committee's 
establishment in 1999. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Barrett reported further on the Monitoring Team's 
efforts to support the Committee, including through the 
drafting of a recent report covering the implementation of 
the sanctions, new threats, a review of the Committee's 
procedures and the legal challenges facing the 1267 sanctions 
committee.  Noting the Monitoring Team's mandate to "promote 
interaction between the Member States and the Committee", he 
said that the Team has visited 26 states.  Moreover, Barrett 
added, the Monitoring Team has been working on a new format 
for the Consolidated List, which includes a modified 
coversheet so that states can provide additional information 
about their listings. 
 
RICE