108 nations decline to pursue terrorists

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NEW YORK -- A U.N. monitoring committee complained yesterday that 108 nations have failed to file required reports on their actions in the war against terrorism, such as freezing assets and reporting the names of suspected terrorists.

Frustrated committee members said they are considering asking for a stronger Security Council resolution with "more teeth" to force compliance from member states.

The reports are required under Security Council resolutions passed since 2001, which imposed sanctions first on the Taliban and later on al Qaeda and the 30 to 40 terrorist groups thought to be affiliated with them.

Governments are required to enumerate steps that they have taken to make banking records more transparent, identify terrorist suspects and halt shipments of weapons and potentially dangerous chemicals.

Michael Chandler, chairman of the monitoring group, said he would not make excuses for nations that have been slow to file the comprehensive reports, which were due by the end of October.

Among the countries that have not complied are several where the al Qaeda terror network is thought to be active, including Afghanistan, Egypt, Indonesia, Kenya and Sudan.

"There is a stigma, I think, as though countries are reluctant to admit there is al Qaeda activity or connections inside their borders," Mr. Chandler said, suggesting that such admissions would scare away tourism and investment.

"We were surprised to see in some of these [reports] not as much information about the presence of al Qaeda as we would have expected."

Chilean Ambassador Heraldo Munoz, chairman of the United Nations' al Qaeda sanctions committee, said, "I'm still hopeful we'll have more cooperation" by the end of the year.