Tuesday, 01 September 2020_The United States has once again become isolated as it vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on foreign Daesh terrorists, while the other 14 council members voted in favor of the resolution.
Washington said the resolution did not address “repatriation”, with US ambassador to the United Nations, Kelly Craft, claiming the draft text aiming to reinforce international action on counter-terrorism "was worse than no resolution at all."
The US veto highlighted the growing divide between Washington and its European allies, as well as Arab countries, who have refused to commit to taking back their terrorists since the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group was vanquished in Syria and Iraq over a year ago.
The United States wants foreign terrorists sent home to be either prosecuted or rehabilitated there.
Washington’s insistence on including the word "repatriation" in the text was originally backed by Moscow.
European states, which have had many nationals fighting for groups like Daesh, have been reluctant to try them at home, citing concerns about a public backlash and the risk of fresh attacks on European soil.
Some European countries, including France and Belgium, have adopted a case-by-case approach to repatriating the children or even wives of terrorists held in the Middle East, AFP said.
Kelly said that "It (the resolution) fails to even include reference to the crucial first step – repatriation to countries of origin or nationality."
Thousands of foreign terrorist from dozens of countries are being held in Iraqi and Syria. Tens of thousands of Syrian and foreign women and children – family members of suspected terrorists – are also held in squalid camps.
The US veto comes after the Europeans, last month, rejected a US draft resolution that aimed to extend an arms embargo on Iran as part of US efforts to re-establish sanctions on Tehran.
Also, last week Indonesia, the UN Security Council president, dismissed Washington's attempt to trigger a return of all UN sanctions on Iran because 13 members expressed their opposition.
Earlier this month, the Europeans rejected a US draft resolution that aimed to extend an arms embargo on Iran, as part of a US effort to re-establish international sanctions on Tehran.
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