Security Council Bolsters Mandate of Focal Point for Delisting to Receive Requests from UN Sanctions Regimes, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 2744 (2024)
15-Member Body Also Sets Up Informal Working on General Sanctions Issues
The Security Council today adopted a resolution strengthening the mandate of the Focal Point for Delisting — set out in resolution 1730 (2006) to receive requests for delisting from United Nations sanctions regimes — and establishing an Informal Working Group on general sanctions issues.
Unanimously adopting resolution 2744 (2024) (to be issued as document S/RES/2744(2024)), the Council directed the Sanctions Committees established by the Security Council — except the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1267 (1999)—- to revise their guidelines accordingly.
Also by the text, the Council requested the Secretary-General — in consultation with the Informal Working Group — to appoint the Focal Point within three months of the resolution’s adoption to take over all the mandates of the original Focal Point established pursuant to resolution 1730 (2006). Further, it expressed its intention to keep the mandate and tasks of the Focal Point under continuous review.
Speaking before the vote, Malta’s delegate said that the text is the result of months of negotiations and “the clear signal of this Council’s commitment towards due process”. However, she emphasized that the strength of the new mechanism needs to be matched by the engagement of all Member States, not only Council members. “Relevant States, counties of citizenship and residents have an important role to play when considering the merit of a delisting request,” she stated, adding that “the mechanism is a tool for all to use”.
Today’s vote is “a historic moment”, said her counterpart from the United States, noting that it has been 18 years since the Council last took action on delisting procedures. With this resolution, he said, “the international community is demonstrating its commitment to values, such as transparency and fairness in UN sanctions processes”. The sanctions are not meant to be indefinite or punitive — far from it. Expressing concern about a growing tendency to prematurely lift sanctions, he expressed hope that the Informal Working Group established by the resolution will allow experts to dive deeper into strategic issues impacting multiple sanctions.
The speaker for Switzerland noted that her country — together with its partners in the Group of Like-Minded States on UN Targeted Sanctions — has been seeking for nearly 20 years to improve listing and delisting procedures. The strengthening of the Focal Point achieved today is a step in the right direction, she said, adding: “We regret, however, that the Committee will not have to decide by default on every delisting request.” She underscored that the current solution, whereby a State must undertake the procedural step of recommending that a delisting request proceeds, may be viable. The establishment of an Informal Working Group to discuss cross-cutting issues will help enhance the effectiveness of sanctions and their implementation. While it is regrettable that the issue of fair and transparent procedures is not explicitly mentioned in the mandate, it can be addressed if a State so requests, she added.
Japan’s delegate expressed hope that the Informal Working Group will be a platform for meaningful and inclusive discussions regarding the effective implementation of Security Council sanctions. Noting that Council sanctions are “an important tool under the Charter of the United Nations in the maintenance and restoration of international peace and security”, she said it is vital that all Member States fully implement sanctions measures.
Echoing that sentiment, the speaker for the Republic of Korea highlighted the Council’s responsibility to seek ways to enhance the credibility, legitimacy and effectiveness of the sanctions regime in contributing to international peace and security. The resolution has achieved two objectives — first, successfully enhancing the due process of the sanctions regime by strengthening the existing focal points mechanism, and second, establishing the Informal Working Group as a platform to discuss general issues related to UN sanctions. He then urged all UN members, particularly of the Council, to faithfully implement them.
Meanwhile, the representative of the Russian Federation, Council President for July, speaking in his national capacity, said that sanctions are one of the most stringent and robust responses, which “should be applied in an exceedingly cautious way”. They need to be irreproachable, and they need to be nuanced. Their use as a punitive tool is unethical. In recent decades, the Council has increasingly wielded sanctions instruments at the encouragement of Western States. Against this backdrop, his country repeatedly stressed the importance of a regular assessment of sanctions measures, emphasizing their advocacy, fairness and effectiveness, and the need for their subsequent modification. Most importantly, the Informal Working Group on general sanctions issues established by the resolution must not encroach upon the authorities of Sanctions Committees. The text adopted today cannot resolve many problems related to the application of Council sanctions, he asserted.
Along similar lines, China’s delegate emphasized that the Focal Point for Delisting must perform its duties impartially and professionally, expressing hope that the Secretariat will make the appointment at an early date after seeking the consent of the Council members. Calling on the Council to continue to optimize the Focal Point mechanism to increase the fairness and effectiveness of its sanctions regime, she stressed that sanctions are special tools aimed at creating conditions conducive to a political settlement. Their implementation often leads to negative impacts, she said, calling for a comprehensive review of such impacts.
While acknowledging that sanctions are essential tools in the maintenance and restoration of international peace and security, the representative of Guyana, speaking also for Algeria, Mozambique and Sierra Leone, said “it is equally important that there is a defined system that reviews and assesses petitions of individuals listed to discourage perpetuity”. In this context, the continuous review of the mechanism — coupled with the establishment of an Informal Working Group — represents “a balanced solution” that reflects the Council's ability to forge consensus from diverse viewpoints.
“Through diligent negotiations, we have managed to transform the Focal Point Mechanism into a robust framework that prioritizes due process,” she said, citing the evolution from the initial text to this final iteration as “a new chapter in the pursuit of our collective endeavour for the improvement of UN sanctions regimes”.