U.N.: Al Qaeda sanctions failing
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The U.N. says the terror network founded by Osama bin Laden is continuing to receive funds.
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UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- A lack of international cooperation and resolve is holding back efforts to stem the flow of money, arms and supporters to al Qaeda, a U.N. report has warned.
As a result the terror network blamed for the September 11 attacks on the United States is continuing to grow, with Iraq in particular becoming a "fertile ground", the report said.
The report, released Monday, was compiled by a special Security Council committee established to monitor international sanctions against al Qaeda.
Particularly worrisome for U.S.-led forces in Iraq, the committee said that country had become "readily accessible to al Qaeda followers anxious to take up the battle against the coalition forces."
It added the risk of the terror group acquiring and using weapons of mass destruction continued to grow, highlighting "great concern" over the possibility the group might stage an attack using a so-called "dirty bomb."
The committee, headed by Chilean ambassador Heraldo Munoz, monitors the implementation of Security Council resolutions requiring specific action against al Qaeda.
Among the measures passed by the council are resolutions requiring countries to identify al Qaeda-linked organizations and individuals, impose travel restrictions, freeze bank accounts and prevent their access to arms.
Although "important progress" had been made in these areas, the report said much work remained to be done and large amounts of funds were still reaching al Qaeda associates.
'Distressing'
Munoz said a particular concern was that many charities were still being abused by groups connected to al Qaeda or the former Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
"This is a very distressing fact," he said.
Furthermore, he added, weapons continued to flow across borders unchecked and in large quantities, especially in the Middle East.
As a result, the report said, "al Qaeda continues to have access to sufficient funds to recruit, train and mount operations."
Munoz said many countries lacked the resources or resolve to stem the flow of funds to al Qaeda-related groups and less than half the 191 U.N. member states had failed to submit required reports detailing people and organizations associated with the group.
He said that only 84 out of a 191 member states had submitted their most recent reports on time.
Munoz said that, along with a relatively low number of arrests of al Qaeda and Taliban associates, was "clearly a disappointing result."
