treaty3

INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION

FOR THE SUPPRESSION

OF THE FINANCING

OF TERRORISM

UNITED NATIONS

1999

International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism

Preamble

The States Parties to this Convention,

Bearing in mind the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations

concerning the maintenance of international peace and security and the promotion of good-

neighbourliness and friendly relations and cooperation among States,

Deeply concerned about the worldwide escalation of acts of terrorism in all its forms

and manifestations,

Recalling the Declaration on the Occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the United

Nations, contained in General Assembly resolution 50/6 of 24 October 1995,

Recalling also all the relevant General Assembly resolutions on the matter, including

resolution 49/60 of 9 December 1994 and its annex on the Declaration on Measures to

Eliminate International Terrorism, in which the States Members of the United Nations

solemnly reaffirmed their unequivocal condemnation of all acts, methods and practices of

terrorism as criminal and unjustifiable, wherever and by whomever committed, including those

which jeopardize the friendly relations among States and peoples and threaten the territorial

integrity and security of States,

Noting that the Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism also

encouraged States to review urgently the scope of the existing international legal provisions on

the prevention, repression and elimination of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, with

the aim of ensuring that there is a comprehensive legal framework covering all aspects of the

matter,

Recalling General Assembly resolution 51/210 of 17 December 1996, paragraph 3,

subparagraph (f), in which the Assembly called upon all States to take steps to prevent and

counteract, through appropriate domestic measures, the financing of terrorists and terrorist

organizations, whether such financing is direct or indirect through organizations which also

have or claim to have charitable, social or cultural goals or which are also engaged in unlawful

activities such as illicit arms trafficking, drug dealing and racketeering, including the exploitation

of persons for purposes of funding terrorist activities, and in particular to consider, where

appropriate, adopting regulatory measures to prevent and counteract movements of funds

suspected to be intended for terrorist purposes without impeding in any way the freedom of

legitimate capital movements and to intensify the exchange of information concerning

international movements of such funds,

Recalling also General Assembly resolution 52/165 of 15 December 1997, in which

the Assembly called upon States to consider, in particular, the implementation

-8-

such a conditional extradition or surrender shall be sufficient to discharge the obligation set

forth in paragraph 1.

Article 11

1. The offences set forth in article 2 shall be deemed to be included as extraditable

offences in any extradition treaty existing between any of the States Parties before the entry

into force of this Convention. States Parties undertake to include such offences as extraditable

offences in every extradition treaty to be subsequently concluded between them.

2. When a State Party which makes extradition conditional on the existence of a treaty

receives a request for extradition from another State Party with which it has no extradition

treaty, the requested State Party may, at its option, consider this Convention as a legal basis

for extradition in respect of the offences set forth in article 2. Extradition shall be subject to the

other conditions provided by the law of the requested State.

3. States Parties which do not make extradition conditional on the existence of a treaty

shall recognize the offences set forth in article 2 as extraditable offences between themselves,

subject to the conditions provided by the law of the requested State.

4. If necessary, the offences set forth in article 2 shall be treated, for the purposes of

extradition between States Parties, as if they had been committed not only in the place in

which they occurred but also in the territory of the States that have established jurisdiction in

accordance with article 7, paragraphs 1 and 2.

5. The provisions of all extradition treaties and arrangements between States Parties with

regard to offences set forth in article 2 shall be deemed to be modified as between States

Parties to the extent that they are incompatible with this Convention.

Article 12

1. States Parties shall afford one another the greatest measure of assistance in connection

with criminal investigations or criminal or extradition proceedings in respect of the offences set

forth in article 2, including assistance in obtaining evidence in their possession necessary for

the proceedings.

2. States Parties may not refuse a request for mutual legal assistance on the ground of

bank secrecy.

3. The requesting Party shall not transmit nor use information or evidence furnished by the

requested Party for investigations, prosecutions or proceedings other than those stated in the

request without the prior consent of the requested Party.

-3-

Article 2

1. Any person commits an offence within the meaning of this Convention if that person by

any means, directly or indirectly, unlawfully and wilfully, provides or collects funds with the

intention that they should be used or in the knowledge that they are to be used, in full or in

part, in order to carry out:

(a) An act which constitutes an offence within the scope of and as defined in one of

the treaties listed in the annex; or

(b) Any other act intended to cause death or serious bodily injury to a civilian, or to

any other person not taking an active part in the hostilities in a situation of armed conflict,

when the purpose of such act, by its nature or context, is to intimidate a population, or to

compel a government or an international organization to do or to abstain from doing any act.

2. (a) On depositing its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, a

State Party which is not a party to a treaty listed in the annex may declare that, in the

application of this Convention to the State Party, the treaty shall be deemed not to be included

in the annex referred to in paragraph 1, subparagraph (a). The declaration shall cease to have

effect as soon as the treaty enters into force for the State Party, which shall notify the

depositary of this fact;

(b) When a State Party ceases to be a party to a treaty listed in the annex, it may

make a declaration as provided for in this article, with respect to that treaty.

3. For an act to constitute an offence set forth in paragraph 1, it shall not be necessary that

the funds were actually used to carry out an offence referred to in paragraph 1, subparagraphs

(a) or (b).

4. Any person also commits an offence if that person attempts to commit an offence as set

forth in paragraph 1 of this article.

5. Any person also commits an offence if that person:

(a) Participates as an accomplice in an offence as set forth in paragraph 1 or 4 of this

article;

(b) Organizes or directs others to commit an offence as set forth in paragraph 1 or 4

of this article;

paragraphs 1 or 4 of this article by a group of persons acting with a common purpose. Such

contribution shall be intentional and shall either:

-10-

(a) The person freely gives his or her informed consent;

(b) The competent authorities of both States agree, subject to such conditions as those

States may deem appropriate.

2. For the purposes of the present article:

(a) The State to which the person is transferred shall have the authority and obligation

to keep the person transferred in custody, unless otherwise requested or authorized by the

State from which the person was transferred;

(b) The State to which the person is transferred shall without delay implement its

obligation to return the person to the custody of the State from which the person was

transferred as agreed beforehand, or as otherwise agreed, by the competent authorities of

both States;

the person was transferred to initiate extradition proceedings for the return of the person;

(d) The person transferred shall receive credit for service of the sentence being served

in the State from which he or she was transferred for time spent in the custody of the State to

which he or she was transferred.

3. Unless the State Party from which a person is to be transferred in accordance with the

present article so agrees, that person, whatever his or her nationality, shall not be prosecuted

or detained or subjected to any other restriction of his or her personal liberty in the territory of

the State to which that person is transferred in respect of acts or convictions anterior to his or

her departure from the territory of the State from which such person was transferred.

Article 17

Any person who is taken into custody or regarding whom any other measures are taken

or proceedings are carried out pursuant to this Convention shall be guaranteed fair treatment,

including enjoyment of all rights and guarantees in conformity with the law of the State in the

territory of which that person is present and applicable provisions of international law,

including international human rights law.

Article 18

1. States Parties shall cooperate in the prevention of the offences set forth in article 2 by

taking all practicable measures, inter alia, by adapting their domestic legislation, if necessary,

to prevent and counter preparations in their respective territories for the commission of those

offences within or outside their territories, including:

-11-

(a) Measures to prohibit in their territories illegal activities of persons and

organizations that knowingly encourage, instigate, organize or engage in the commission of

offences set forth in article 2;

(b) Measures requiring financial institutions and other professions involved in financial

transactions to utilize the most efficient measures available for the identification of their usual or

occasional customers, as well as customers in whose interest accounts are opened, and to pay

special attention to unusual or suspicious transactions and report transactions suspected of

stemming from a criminal activity. For this purpose, States Parties shall consider:

(i) Adopting regulations prohibiting the opening of accounts the holders or

beneficiaries of which are unidentified or unidentifiable, and measures to ensure that

such institutions verify the identity of the real owners of such transactions;

(ii) With respect to the identification of legal entities, requiring financial institutions,

when necessary, to take measures to verify the legal existence and the structure of the

customer by obtaining, either from a public register or from the customer or both, proof

of incorporation, including information concerning the customer=s name, legal form,

address, directors and provisions regulating the power to bind the entity;

(iii) Adopting regulations imposing on financial institutions the obligation to report

promptly to the competent authorities all complex, unusual large transactions and

unusual patterns of transactions, which have no apparent economic or obviously lawful

purpose, without fear of assuming criminal or civil liability for breach of any restriction

on disclosure of information if they report their suspicions in good faith;

(iv) Requiring financial institutions to maintain, for at least five years, all necessary

records on transactions, both domestic or international.

2. States Parties shall further cooperate in the prevention of offences set forth in article 2

by considering:

(a) Measures for the supervision, including, for example, the licensing, of all money-

transmission agencies;

(b) Feasible measures to detect or monitor the physical cross-border transportation of

cash and bearer negotiable instruments, subject to strict safeguards to ensure proper use of

information and without impeding in any way the freedom of capital movements.

3. States Parties shall further cooperate in the prevention of the offences set forth in article

2 by exchanging accurate and verified information in accordance with their domestic law and

coordinating administrative and other measures taken, as appropriate, to prevent the

commission of offences set forth in article 2, in particular by:

-12-

(a) Establishing and maintaining channels of communication between their competent

agencies and services to facilitate the secure and rapid exchange of information concerning all

aspects of offences set forth in article 2;

(b) Cooperating with one another in conducting inquiries, with respect to the offences

set forth in article 2, concerning:

(i) The identity, whereabouts and activities of persons in respect of whom reasonable

suspicion exists that they are involved in such offences;

(ii) The movement of funds relating to the commission of such offences.

4. States Parties may exchange information through the International Criminal Police

Organization (Interpol).

Article 19

The State Party where the alleged offender is prosecuted shall, in accordance with its

domestic law or applicable procedures, communicate the final outcome of the proceedings to

the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who shall transmit the information to the other

States Parties.

Article 20

The States Parties shall carry out their obligations under this Convention in a manner

consistent with the principles of sovereign equality and territorial integrity of States and that of

non-intervention in the domestic affairs of other States.

Article 21

Nothing in this Convention shall affect other rights, obligations and responsibilities of

States and individuals under international law, in particular the purposes of the Charter of the

United Nations, international humanitarian law and other relevant conventions.

Article 22

Nothing in this Convention entitles a State Party to undertake in the territory of another

State Party the exercise of jurisdiction or performance of functions which are exclusively

reserved for the authorities of that other State Party by its domestic law.

-7-

3. Any person regarding whom the measures referred to in paragraph 2 are being taken

shall be entitled to:

(a) Communicate without delay with the nearest appropriate representative of the

State of which that person is a national or which is otherwise entitled to protect that person=s

rights or, if that person is a stateless person, the State in the territory of which that person

habitually resides;

(b) Be visited by a representative of that State;

4. The rights referred to in paragraph 3 shall be exercised in conformity with the laws and

regulations of the State in the territory of which the offender or alleged offender is present,

subject to the provision that the said laws and regulations must enable full effect to be given to

the purposes for which the rights accorded under paragraph 3 are intended.

5. The provisions of paragraphs 3 and 4 shall be without prejudice to the right of any

State Party having a claim to jurisdiction in accordance with article 7, paragraph 1,

subparagraph (b), or paragraph 2, subparagraph (b), to invite the International Committee of

the Red Cross to communicate with and visit the alleged offender.

6. When a State Party, pursuant to the present article, has taken a person into custody, it

shall immediately notify, directly or through the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the

States Parties which have established jurisdiction in accordance with article 7, paragraph 1 or

2, and, if it considers it advisable, any other interested States Parties, of the fact that such

person is in custody and of the circumstances which warrant that person=s detention. The

State which makes the investigation contemplated in paragraph 1 shall promptly inform the

said States Parties of its findings and shall indicate whether it intends to exercise jurisdiction.

Article 10

1. The State Party in the territory of which the alleged offender is present shall, in cases to

which article 7 applies, if it does not extradite that person, be obliged, without exception

whatsoever and whether or not the offence was committed in its territory, to submit the case

without undue delay to its competent authorities for the purpose of prosecution, through

proceedings in accordance with the laws of that State. Those authorities shall take their

decision in the same manner as in the case of any other offence of a grave nature under the

law of that State.

2. Whenever a State Party is permitted under its domestic law to extradite or otherwise

surrender one of its nationals only upon the condition that the person will be returned to that

State to serve the sentence imposed as a result of the trial or proceeding for which the

extradition or surrender of the person was sought, and this State and the State seeking the

extradition of the person agree with this option and other terms they may deem appropriate,