UNSC Resolution 1267

• 01 May 2019

Why is it in News?

UN Security Council designated Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar as a Global Terrorist on 1^st May 2019.

What is the UNSC 1267 Resolution?

• United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267 was adopted unanimously on 15 October 1999 for overseeing the sanction measures against Taliban and Osama Bin Laden. Because of this fact UNSC Resolution 1267 is also called as Al Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee.
• Due to the changing pattern of terrorism, the provisions of UNSC 1267 were further broadened and strengthened by other resolutions.

What happens if a Person is listed in UNSC 1267?

It leads to curtailment of their movement, freeze and seizure of its properties, arms embargo etc. UNSC 1267 empowers the government of that country (where he resides) to take all possible actions against him.

How is the Decision taken by UNSC?

The decision is taken by consensus i.e. all the 15 members have to be on the same page for declaring an organization or a person, at terrorist under UNSC 1267.

Why was Masood Azhar not declared a Global Terrorist until now?

India tried to convince the world to declare Masood Azhar as an International Terrorist post the Mumbai attack (2009), then post Pathankot attack (2016), post Uri attack (2017) and then post Pulwama attack (2019), but all these efforts went in vain as China used its ‘Veto’ in the UN Security Council.

How did China change its Stand now?

Undoubtedly this mellowing of stand by China can pave the path of friendship between India and China, some of the probable reasons for this change in behaviour are:

1. In Wuhan Summit, it was decided that India-China will not take any stand on any issues which can create trouble for either India or China, so this Wuhan Friendship was time and again reminded to the Chinese Government which led to softening of the stand.

2. India too has softened its stand vis-à-vis Belt and Road Initiative of China (BRI) which has gone well with the Chinese Government.

3. China was getting labeled by the World as a country which is acting as bulwark for terrorists which was not going well with the civil society of China and diplomatic officials. Therefore, China wanted to get rid of this label.

4. Pakistan too did not pressurize China more as it already is facing the heat from Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for being a country which provides shelter to terrorists (which may lead to its listing in Black List of FATF), also Pakistan felt that due to poor health and old age of Masood Azhar he is of very little use for Pakistan. This paved the path for listing Masood Azhar as a Global Terrorist.

Source: TH