March 2013
United Nations Security Council adopts a resolution endorsing increased cooperation with INTERPOL, August 2006
Cooperation between
INTERPOL and the
UNITED NATIONS
Security Council
STRONG PARTNERSHIP
Transnational crime cannot be tackled in isolation; police,
national administrations and international organizations
must all work together to combat the common threat posed
by criminals who knows no borders. INTERPOL has forged
strong partnerships with organizations in the public and
private sectors to share skills and knowledge and develop
joint initiatives. INTERPOL and the United Nations have
a long-standing relationship, and the two organizations
have collaborated on many projects and initiatives to fight
international crime.
CONNECTING POLICE FOR A SAFER WORLD
Cooperation between
INTERPOL and the UNITED NATIONS Security Council
THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is the organ
of the UN tasked with maintaining international peace
and security. It is composed of five permanent members
– China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the
United States – and 10 non-permanent members elected
for two-year terms.
When conflicts arise, the Security Council seeks to assist
member states in reaching negotiated solutions. If diplomatic
efforts fail and international peace is threatened, the
Security Council can authorize a range of measures under
Chapter VII of the UN Charter. It can, for example, issue
ceasefire directives, send a UN peacekeeping force, introduce
economic or other sanctions, or approve military intervention.
THE UNSC SANCTIONS COMMITTEES
Under the UN Charter, the Security Council can take
enforcement measures to maintain or restore international
peace and security, including sanctions. The use of sanctions
is intended to apply pressure on an individual or entity to
change its behaviour, to resolve or avoid conflict without
resorting to the use of force. The range of possible sanctions
includes economic and trade sanctions, arms embargoes,
travel bans, and financial or diplomatic restrictions.
Sanctions are binding on all UN member states, who have
the primary responsibility for implementing them. Sanctions
are preventive in nature and do not imply nor involve any
criminal charges against the named individual or entity.
The three most common types of sanctions are:
•
Assets freeze – freezing the funds and other
financial assets of sanctioned individuals and
entities;
•
Travel ban – preventing a sanctioned individual
from entering or transiting through a country/
territory;
•
Arms embargo – preventing the direct or indirect
supply, sale or transfer of arms and related material
to sanctioned individuals and entities.
When the Security Council imposes a set of sanctions, a
Sanctions Committee is formed to oversee and implement
them. Each Sanctions Committee consists of the Security
Council members and is tasked with establishing a list of
individuals and entities subject to those sanctions, and
ensuring that countries enforce them.
SANCTIONS LISTS
Each Sanctions Committee maintains a list of individuals
and entities that are subject to that particular sanctions
regime. UN member states submit names and supporting
information for individuals or groups they believe should
be included, and the Sanctions Committee reviews the
information to determine if it meets the established criteria.
If the Sanctions Committee agrees, the individual or entity
is then placed on the list, and all UN member states are
required to enforce the sanctions against them. The lists
are available on the UN’s website.
SANCTIONS COMMITTEES SUPPORTED BY INTERPOL
INTERPOL works closely with the Security Council and
its Sanctions Committees, namely through issuing the
INTERPOL-UNSC Special Notices and sharing information.
There are around a dozen Sanctions Committees currently
in place, overseeing sanctions against individuals and
entities involved in past or ongoing conflicts around the
globe. INTERPOL issues Special Notices for those related
to the following sanctions regimes:
•
Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions
1267 (1999) and 1989 (2011) – this committee
oversees sanctions concerning Al-Qaida;
•
Security Council Committee pursuant to resolution
1988 (2011) – this committee oversees sanctions
concerning the Taliban.
Sanctions against these groups were first approved by the
Security Council in 1999. At that time, there was only one
Sanctions Committee overseeing both sets of sanctions,
known as the Security Council Committee pursuant to
resolution 1267 (1999). In 2011, the Security Council
split the sanctions regime into the two distinct sanctions
committees.
INTERPOL also collaborates with the Sanctions Committees
concerning Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of
Congo, Eritrea/Somalia and Sudan.
Cooperation between
INTERPOL and the UNITED NATIONS Security Council
THE INTERPOL-UNSC SPECIAL NOTICE
INTERPOL has a strong partnership with the Security Council,
and supports the work of the Sanctions Committees. This is
primarily done by issuing INTERPOL-United Nations Security
Council Special Notices, part of INTERPOL’s system of alerts
to law enforcement.
The Special Notice has three main functions:
•
Alert law enforcement worldwide that a given
individual or entity is subject to UN sanctions;
•
Provide direction on actions countries should
take to implement the sanctions in accordance
with their national laws;
•
Enhance the information available concerning
sanctioned individuals and entities, and the
quality of the UN sanctions lists.
The notice was created in 2005, following resolutions
adopted by INTERPOL and the UN to increase cooperation
in the fight against terrorism. Special Notices are circulated
to its 190 member countries via I-24/7, INTERPOL’s global
communications system. By alerting to individuals and
entities subject to UN sanctions, the notice encourages
national law enforcement agencies to take the necessary
actions to enforce the sanctions.
A Special Notice does not seek an individual’s arrest.
Instead, it seeks the application of the particular sanctions.
For example, a Special Notice for an individual subject to
a travel ban aims to prevent that person from traveling.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION ON SPECIAL NOTICES AND SANCTIONS
United Nations Security
Council website
www.un.org/sc
INTERPOL public website
www.interpol.int
INTERPOL restricted
website
https://secure.interpol.int
I-24/7
http://i247.ip
Authorized users /
connection
Public / Internet
Public / Internet
Law enforcement; access
granted by NCB /
Internet;
user name and password
NCBs or authorized
national agencies /
I-24/7 or VPN;
user name and password
General information on
UNSC sanctions and
Special Notices
UNSC mandate, resolutions,
Sanctions Committees,
press releases, listing and
delisting procedures/forms
Legal framework of the
cooperation between INTERPOL
and the UN, purpose of the Special
Notice, link to UNSC website
Legal framework of the
cooperation between
INTERPOL and the UN,
purpose of the Special Notice
None
Operational information
on individuals and
entities subject to
sanctions
Listing – YES
Lists of individuals and
entities subject to UN
sanctions, narrative
summaries, relevant press
releases
Listing – YES
Public extracts of
all Special Notices,
extracts of some INTERPOL
Red and Yellow Notices
Listing – YES
Original published notices and
addenda, including Special
Notices; link to UNSC website;
notice application, addenda
and cancellation forms
Listing – NO
Access to INTERPOL
databases and information,
possibility to see all files
and notices related to an
individual
Specific details about
individuals and entities
Complete UNSC
information as part of
the listing and narrative
summaries
Partial information as
part of public extracts of
Special Notices, Red,
Yellow and Orange Notices
Complete information as
found in published notices
and addenda
Complete information
as found in INTERPOL
databases, including all
notices and information
related to an individual
Search possibilities
Text search within the
relevant documents
Multi-criteria search on
public extracts of Special
Notices
Multi-criteria search of all
types of notices, including
Special Notices
E-ASF: complete search by
all names (aliases), identity
documents (stolen, lost or
associated with notices)
Information regarding the Special Notices and UN sanctions can be found on all of INTERPOL’s websites, as well as the UN Security
Council site. Mostly general information is available on the public access sites; more detailed material can be accessed on the sites
that are restricted to authorized law enforcement users only.
Cooperation between
INTERPOL and the UNITED NATIONS Security Council
REQUESTING A NOTICE
Only a UN Sanctions Committee can request that INTERPOL
publish a Special Notice. A request cannot come directly
from a member country or other entity.
When a Sanctions Committee wishes to have a Special
Notice published for a person or entity, it makes a formal
request to the INTERPOL General Secretariat. INTERPOL
reviews the information and only publishes it if it meets
all the Organization’s legal requirements. For example, it
must not violate INTERPOL’s Constitution, which forbids it
from undertaking any intervention or activities of a political,
military, religious or racial character.
There are presently some 350 valid Special Notices in
circulation. Extracts of the notices appear on INTERPOL’s
public website.
Some Special Notice extracts on the website relate to
individuals who are confirmed or believed to be dead. Such
extracts remain online in order to give continuing effect to
sanctions imposed by the UN, for example with respect to
the freezing of assets.
ABOUT INTERPOL
Connecting police, securing the world
INTERPOL’s mission is to enable police around the world
to work together to make the world a safer place. Our
high-tech infrastructure connects police in all our member
countries, offering instant access to criminal databases and
allowing police to share critical crime-related information.
Each member country has a National Central Bureau that
links police on the ground to each other and to INTERPOL’s
General Secretarial in Lyon, France. Police access INTERPOL’s
tools, databases and services via the NCB and can instantly
share information with all member countries.
We provide targeted training, expert investigative support,
relevant data and secure communications channels. Our
technical and operational support helps meet the growing
challenges of fighting 21st century crime.
 CONTACT :
INTERPOL
Office of the Special Representative of INTERPOL to the
United Nations
One United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017
USA
Tel: +1 917 367 3463
Fax: +1 917 367 3476
www.interpol.int
For more information on the United Nations Security Council and
its Sanctions Committees, visit:
www.un.org/sc/committees/.