UN approves appeals for Qaeda sanctions list

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 20 (Reuters) The UN Security Council voted unanimously to approve an appeal procedure for people and groups subject to sanctions because of suspected ties to al Qaeda and Afghanistan's former Taliban rulers.

The difficulty of removing names or correcting mistaken identities on the UN list has long disturbed Europeans, who have submitted a variety of proposals that have been discussed at a glacial pace over the past four years.

The new rules allow an individual or group on the list to present a case to a new unit in the UN secretariat, which would review the information and present it to a council panel, headed by Argentina's UN Ambassador Cesar Mayoral.

But the panel, on which all 15 council members have veto power, would make a final decision. Many of the new appeal rules were drawn up by the United States, which has submitted most of the names, and France, which welcomed the procedures.

But Denmark's UN Ambassador Ellen Margrethe Loj, backed by Greek Ambassador Adamantios Vassilakis, said yesterday the procedures did not go far enough. She advocated consideration of a Danish proposal to establish an independent review mechanism.

Loj, a sponsor of yesterday's resolution, nevertheless urged the council ''to continue work on fair and clear procedures for listing and delisting.'' The roster of people and groups is set up by the council's so-called ''1267 committee.'' So far most entries from governments go unchallenged, without judicial procedures.

The Security Council imposed sanctions against the Taliban in November 1999 for harboring Osama bin Laden after the 1998 bombings of US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

The sanctions, which include a freeze of assets and an arms and travel embargo, were broadened to include groups and individuals related to al Qaeda after the September. 11, 2001 attacks against the United States.

The Security Council lists 142 individuals and one group associated with the Taliban and 220 people and 124 businesses or groups linked to al Qaeda.

A total of nine individuals and 11 groups have been removed form the list since its inception.

Qatar's UN ambassador, Nasser Abdulaziz al-Nasser, said legal representatives of dead people on the list should be allowed to appeal. ''Some are deceased so how may those deceased persons seek delisting?'' he asked.

France's legal counselor, Brigitte Collet, welcomed the resolution but acknowledged a ''widespread sense that once put on a list, one has a hard time being delisted.'' REUTERS PB PM1053