Decision to Combat the Payment of Ransom to Terrorist Groups

Jurisdiction
African Regional Bodies · African Union (AU)
Citation
Assembly/AU/Dec.256(XIII)
Regional Body / Author
Assembly of the African Union
Date
3 July 2009
Language
English
Type
Statement

Assembly/AU/Dec.256(XIII)

Page 1 DECISION TO COMBAT THE PAYMENT OF RANSOM TO

TERRORIST GROUPS

The Assembly,

  1. EXPRESSES GRAVE CONCERN over the growing phenomenon of piracy, hostage taking and the resultant demands for ransom;

  2. CONSIDERS that the payment of ransom constitutes one of the main methods of financing international terrorism;

  3. RECALLS Resolution 1373 of the United Nations (UN) Security Council on the Financing of Terrorists and Combating Terrorism, as well as Resolution 1267 on the Financing of the Activities of Terrorist Groups;

  4. ALSO RECALLS the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, the International Convention against the Taking of Hostages, the OAU Convention and its Protocol on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism, and the Algiers Plan of Action for the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism;

  5. REAFFIRMS its determination to combat terrorism as a threat to international peace and security, and to strive to curb all sources of financing this phenomenon;

  6. ALSO REAFFIRMS the urgent necessity to consolidate the existing legal arsenal to combat terrorism and to adopt restrictive legal measures to combat the payment of ransom to terrorist groups;

  7. STRONGLY CONDEMNS the payment of ransom to terrorist groups for hostages to be freed;

  8. REQUESTS the international community to consider the payment of ransom to terrorist groups a crime;

  9. REQUESTS the Security Council to adopt a restrictive resolution against the payment of ransom in order to consolidate legal provisions put in place, particularly by resolutions 1373 and 1267, as well as international and African conventions;

  10. FURTHER REQUESTS the United Nations General Assembly to include this issue in its agenda and to initiate negotiations with a view to elaborating a supplementary protocol to the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism or to the International Convention against the Taking of Hostages which prohibits the payment of ransom to terrorist groups;

  11. ALSO REQUESTS the Commission to follow up on the implementation of this Decision and to report to the Assembly in June/July 2010.

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