UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.S. officials late on Wednesday distributed a draft resolution on stopping the financing of clandestine groups and other counter-terrorism proposals to key U.N. Security Council members in hopes the measure could be adopted before Monday, diplomats said. (Read photo caption below)
The draft also deals with immigration, extradition, exchanges of information and the prosecution of perpetrators and networks suspected of playing a role in the Sept. 11 attacks against the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon near Washington.
Wednesday's meeting on the resolution was among the five permanent members of the council with veto power -- Russia, China, Britain, France and the United States.
All gave Washington's proposals strong support, according to envoys at the session, and intend to send it to their capitals for approval. ``They agreed in principle. Nothing even appeared close to a deal-breaker,'' said one diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.
John Negroponte, the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, is to introduce the text to the full 15-member council on Thursday. The aim is to get the resolution adopted before the 189-member General Assembly begins a debate on counter-terrorism on Monday, the envoys said.
Many of the proposals are contained in treaties some countries have ratified or are expected to. But the new resolution would invoke Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which makes the measure mandatory on all countries immediately as part of international law.
The main thrust is on financing of clandestine terrorist networks, using wording of a treaty that has not drawn enough ratifications yet to come into force, the diplomats said.
PHOTO CAPTION:
Members of the United Nations Security Council pause in a moment of silence, September 12, 2001 to express it's condolences to the victims of the deadly attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The United States said that it was trying to build a global coalition against 'terrorism,' including allies, Russia, China and Muslim states. President Bush spoke with the leaders of the four other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council -- Britain, China, France and Russia -- during the day, and Secretary of State Colin Powell conferred with officials of other states. (Reuters - Handout)
- Sep 12 8:31 PM ET