Dead can’t get off UN terror list

Former Taliban militants hoping to have their names removed from the UN Security Council terror blacklist should not underestimate the challenges. The 15-nation council rarely lets even the dead off the hook.

Former Taliban militants hoping to have their names removed from the UN Security Council terror blacklist should not underestimate the challenges. The 15-nation council rarely lets even the dead off the hook.

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Twenty-five deceased militants, including seven Taliban, remain on the UN terror list, which imposes a travel ban and asset freeze on targeted individuals.

Another twenty-eight, including 8 Taliban, are suspected of having perished.

UN officials say that it has been difficult to remove the deceased because they need reliable death certificates, something that is often hard to come by in Taliban-controlled regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Some council members have expressed concern that the financial assets controlled by the individuals may still be used for terrorist purposes.

The debate comes as President Hamid Karzai is making a renewed push to persuade the UN to remove the Taliban form the list.

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