By Peter S. Green
Ahmad Zerfaoui is one of the world's most wanted terrorists, according to the United Nations, which lists him as a member of al-Qaeda's North African arm. It may be difficult to bring him to justice: He died three years ago. At least 42 dead people and as many as 69 defunct companies are among about 500 names on the UN's list of alleged al-Qaeda and Taliban supporters, said Richard Barrett, who heads the world body's committee monitoring sanctions on the groups and is working to clean up the register.
UN member states are reluctant to apply sanctions on the Taliban, al-Qaeda and their supporters because governments don't know who on the list is a legitimate threat, Barrett said. The inaccuracies also hamper Obama administration efforts to motivate allies in the war on terrorism who don't want to be seen as too close to the U.S., said Eric Rosand, a security analyst in New York.
"We turn to the UN for its global legitimacy, but if the UN tool is seen as illegitimate, you limit your effectiveness," said Rosand, co-director of the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation, an independent research group. "The UN has a lot of cachet where the U.S. is not appreciated."
The list grew out of UN sanctions levied against the Taliban in 1999 after the Afghan Islamists refused to give up al-Qaeda operatives following the bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa.
Assets and Travel
The sanctions, which require nations to freeze assets of those listed and bar them from travel and weapons transactions, were extended to al-Qaeda in 2000 and strengthened after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
"It was all a bit frantic after 9-11" and some names were added to the list that don't belong, said Barrett.
All 15 Security Council nations must agree to add or remove any person or company from the register.
"There are dead people on the list and the committee can't get them off," Rosand said.
Groups on the list include Egyptian Islamic Jihad; branches of Saudi Arabia-based al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, which the UN called a main source of funds for al-Qaeda; and two honey shops and a bakery in Yemen whose owner was accused by the UN of being an al-Qaeda financier.
Thomas H. Nelson, an attorney for al-Haramain's now- shuttered U.S. branch, called the terrorism accusation "ridiculous" in a phone interview from Welches, Oregon.
Barrett has removed 12 entities from the list this year. Some defunct companies are kept on to ensure they don't revive, he said.
Death in Mali
Zerfaoui, who died in Mali in 2006, according to the UN, remains on the list because his name hasn't come up for review.
"The problem with 'dead' people is proving that they are dead, particularly if they have died in ungoverned areas or countries where identities are uncertain and burials take place as soon as possible after death," Barrett said in an e-mail.
Barrett, 60, a former officer of Britain's MI6 spy agency, heads eight senior officials and about a dozen support staff from countries including Russia, France and the U.S., working from a midtown Manhattan office.
Many of Barrett's security, intelligence and financial contacts are in countries that shy away from open cooperation with the U.S.
"This is a good way for the U.S. to get its agenda applied under a neutral flag," said Barrett.
'Significant Success'
Even with its flaws, the list helps the U.S. stifle al- Qaeda and the Taliban, said David S. Cohen, the Treasury's assistant secretary for terrorist financing.
"We've had some significant success in degrading the financial facilitation networks by which al-Qaeda has been obtaining their funds," he said in an interview.
Barrett said intelligence reports show al-Qaeda and the Taliban made several appeals for cash this year, a signal they are hurting from the sanctions. He said he didn't have data from member states to show conclusively how much money has been seized under the sanctions.
Critics of the program including Jean-Charles Brisard, a former head of corporate intelligence at Paris-based Vivendi Universal SA, said the UN hasn't kept up with terrorists' financing methods. Since 2003, the amount of assets frozen and the number of names on the list has remained at about $80 million and 500 people, said Brisard, now a consultant for families of Sept. 11 victims.
"That's quite ridiculous," he said from Paris.
Legal Challenges
Countries have also been reluctant to enforce the sanctions out of concern the list won't stand up to legal challenges, said Brisard and Barrett.
A Saudi businessman, Yassin Abdullah Kadi, also known as Yasin al-Qadi, who is on the list for allegedly supplying arms and funds to al-Qaeda and had his assets frozen, appealed to the European Court of Justice. The court ruled last year that the European Union regulations enforcing the UN sanctions denied his rights, including the right to judicial review. The asset freeze, the court said, was "an unjustified restriction" on property rights.
The council is discussing new rules on the listing and appeals process.
"For the sanctions to be efficient," Barrett said, "they have to be respected."
