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19:38 GMT
NEW YORK, Feb 9 (KUNA) -- A UN official affirmed that so-called Islamic State (IS) is expanding its operations to other regions due to a flow of financial resources and ties with transnational organized criminals.
Undersecretary General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman briefed the UN Security Council today on the Secretary General's recent report providing a strategic-level assessment of the threat posed by IS.
The Report provides a strategic-level assessment of the threat, and highlights that IS's emergence has been facilitated by the protracted conflicts and instability in Iraq and Syria, as well as the weakening of State institutions and the inability of the States to exercise effective control over territory and borders.
Feltman confirmed that the report adds that the group's global expansion strategy "may be a reaction to recent territorial losses inflicted by international military efforts."
In the context of countering the financing of terrorism, the UN official said that Member States should "ensure the timely exchange of information and financial intelligence, implement relevant Security Council resolutions, and strengthen their collaboration with private sector actors to address the threat."
Among other steps, Member States should criminalize the travel of foreign terrorist fighters in accordance with relevant resolutions and take measures to strengthen their border-management regimes, he added.
Feltman told the Council that the so-called IS, continues to perpetrate appalling human rights abuses against populations under its control, including mass executions, widespread torture, amputations, ethno-sectarian attacks, sexual violence, enslavement, and the systematic recruitment and abuse of children.
This is the first "Report of the Secretary General on the threat posed by IS (Da'esh) to international peace and security and the range of United Nations efforts in support of Member States in countering the threat."
This Report is submitted pursuant to resolution 2253, which the Council unanimously adopted last December in a meeting that included Ministers of Finance from around the world. (end)
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