UN prepares resolution to confront Islamic State on oil, antiquities

In a show of unity by the world powers against the Islamic State, the United Nations Security Council is preparing to adopt a legally binding resolution intended to choke the terrorist group's ability to trade in oil, antiquities and hostages.

The draft resolution, which was scheduled to be discussed by Council members in a closed meeting on Friday afternoon, requires all 193 member states of the United Nations to prevent the sale of antiquities from Syria, similar to a measure the Council passed 10 years ago regarding antiquities from Iraq.

It also calls for sanctions against those who help the banned terrorist organisation produce and smuggle oil out of Syria, and reminds all countries around the world that it is already illegal to pay the group ransom in exchange for hostages. The draft resolution was obtained by The New York Times on Friday.

BUSINESS OF BATTLING TERROR

• The draft resolution requires all 193 member states of the United Nations to prevent the sale of antiquities from Syria, similar to a measure the Council passed 10 years ago regarding antiquities from Iraq
• It also calls for sanctions against those who help the banned terrorist organisation produce and smuggle oil out of Syria
• It reminds all countries around the world that it is already illegal to pay the group ransom in exchange for hostages
• The draft measure cites the trade in oil, making it specifically illegal to buy oil produced or sold by those groups, or to supply equipment to help them run oil refineries
• The draft resolution was proposed by Russia and backed by the United States and other Western powers
• The resolution is expected to be adopted next week

In a measure of rare consensus among world powers about the need to confront the Islamic State, the draft resolution was proposed by Russia and backed by the United States and other Western powers. The Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly I Churkin, said on Friday afternoon that he expected it to be adopted next week.

Despite stubborn differences on what to do about the war in Syria, an American official said earlier in the day that American diplomats had "worked relatively constructively" with their Russian counterparts.

The draft resolution is under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, though it does not authorise the use of military force. Council resolutions already prohibit providing financial support of any kind to the Islamic State, as well as to a Qaida affiliate operating in Syria known as the Nusra Front.

The draft measure cites the trade in oil, making it specifically illegal to buy oil produced or sold by those groups, or to supply equipment to help them run oil refineries, though the plummeting price of oil is believed to have reduced how much the group earns from doing so.

The draft also refers to a previous resolution that prohibits the payment of ransom to banned terrorist organisations, though it does not specifically address the issue of prisoner exchanges. A United Nations panel late last year estimated that the Islamic State received more than $35 million in ransom payments over the past year, though it could not quantify how much it made from the sale of antiquities, directly or from taxing dealers who operated in its territory.

The draft resolution does not add any new names to the list of individuals who face sanctions already, though it asks a United Nations sanctions committee to "immediately consider designations of individuals and entities engaged in oil trade-related activities."