UN SECURITY COUNCIL DESIGNATES MASOOD AZHAR AS GLOBAL TERRORIST

Prelims level : International Mains level : Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International Relations
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Why in News

  • Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar was listed as a designated terrorist by the UN Security Council 1267 Committee

Details:

  • The reasons for listing did not mention the Pulwama attack of February 14 for which the JeM had claimed responsibility,
  • The listing is a victory for India in a decade-old diplomatic battle waged primarily by it and supported by its friends at the UNSC, as it would mean a travel ban, arms embargo and asset freeze on Azhar.
  • The P-3 or group of three permanent UNSC members, the U.S., the U.K. and France, had co-sponsored a listing request at the Committee weeks after the Pulwama attack that killed over 40 security personnel.

Reasons for listing

  • The reasons for designating Azhar as a terrorist included his support for the JeM since its founding, being associated with the al-Qaeda by recruiting for them and “participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities or supplying, selling or transferring arms and related material”. It also pointed to his role in recruiting fighters in Afghanistan.
  • Welcoming the decision, India called it a “step in the right direction”, which demonstrated the international community’s resolve to fight against terrorism and “its enablers

 

Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967

  • UAPA is anti-terrorist law aimed at effective prevention of unlawful activities associations in India.
  • Its main objective is to make powers available for dealing with activities directed against integrity and sovereignty of India.
  • It bans certain terrorist associations, punishes membership and association with such organizations and punishes terrorist activities.

UNSC

  • The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security.
  • Its powers include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of international sanctions. It is the only UN body with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member states
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