Comments
A report on requests for de-listing from the U.N. sanctions scheme was published by the Ombudsperson, Daniel Kipfer Fasciati, to the U.N. Security Council Committee on February 7, 2020. The report specifically concerns a number of U.N. Security Council resolutions on Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Da'esh), Al-Qaida, and associated individuals, groups, undertakings, and entities. The report outlines activities related to delisting cases since the previous report was published on August 1, 2019, as well as activities undertaken in relation to developing the the Office of Ombudsperson. Finally, the report makes a number of observations and conclusions concerning: (1) independent, impartial, and effective review of the sanctions regime; (2) fairness and due process concerning the procedures of the Ombudsperson as well as the initial decision to list; (3) a lack of continuity in the Committee and a lack of "rational, case-specific discourse regarding grounds for delisting"; and (4) the institutional independence of the Office of the Ombudsperson. The report also contains and Annex providing the status of recent cases.