Germany, which assumed the chairmanship of the Al Qaeda & Taliban Sanctions Committees back in early 2011, has committed itself to strengthening international cooperation on counter-terrorism, especially within the framework of the United Nations.

‘‘At the time Germany took the helm, there was a clear need for reforming the sanctions regime. (And) among other demands, there were calls to strengthen the due process elements,’’ said Ambassador Peter Wittig, Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations. ‘‘Sanctions implementation was successfully challenged in various courts — the “Kadi case” which made it (twice) to the European Court of Justice being most prominent.’’ Wittig added.

A special event on “Targeted sanctions, human rights and due process –– The future of the 1267/1989 Al-Qaida sanctions regime” was co-organized Tuesday by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Permanent Mission of Germany.

The primary purpose was to address experiences with the new Al Qaida sanctions regime, analyze the compatibility of the Al-Qaida sanctions regime with international human rights 
law, and discuss options for improving the due process elements of the 1267/1989 Al-Qaida sanctions regime.

There was also a discussion of the annual report to the General Assembly presented by Ben Emmerson, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. .

Wittig also stated that so far, 34 appeals for delisting have been submitted to the Ombudsperson’s Office and 19 individuals have been delisted. Since the Ombudsperson regime was strengthened in June 2011, 20 individuals have presented delisting requests, and 10 were delisted. The other pending cases are at various stages of decision-making,’’

‘‘The (office of the) Ombudsperson had been established in 1999 to assist the Sanctions Committee in processing applications for removing individuals from the sanctions list,’’ said Wittig.

‘‘To date I am satisfied that fair process has been accorded in all of the completed cases,” said Kimberly Prost, the “ombudsperson” to the UN Security Council’s Al-Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee.

‘‘The conclusions of her reports on de-listing requests, previously of an advisory character, were upgraded to recommendations. The Sanctions Committee can now overrule these recommendations only by consensus,’’ noted Wittig.

‘‘I am confident that there will be serious discussion among Security Council members of the Special Rapporteur’s arguments, the Ombudsperson’s comments, and of the proposals made by the Like-Minded Group on Targeted Sanctions,’’ concluded Wittig.