Will Syria change its terror sponsoring ways?
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Syria joins U.N. terror funding treaty
Under treaty, governments must make terror sponsoring a criminal offence and confiscate assets designated for terrorist purposes
Syria has formally acceded to a United Nations treaty designed to cut off funding for terrorist activities, U.N. officials said on Sunday.
Syria's instruments of ratification were submitted at a U.N. crime conference in Bangkok, where the financing of terrorism, increasingly through money laundering and organized crime, has been a key issue.
"It is an important decision, not only in the context of Syria," Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, told Reuters.
"We are promoting vigorously the ratification and accession by all countries to all 12 conventions and protocols against terrorism. These steps are crucial," he said.
Syria designated as terror sponsor since 1979
Syria raises to 136 the number of parties to the Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, one of 12 anti-terrorism conventions covering such areas as bombings, hostage takings and hijackings.
Under the treaty, states must "Make the provision of such funding a criminal offence under their domestic laws, and to confiscate assets allocated for terrorist purposes".
Syrian officials were not available for comment, and the head of the U.S. delegation declined to speak to reporters on the issue.
The U.S. State Department has designated Damascus as a sponsor of terrorism since 1979, a status that subjects Syria to limited U.S. sanctions.
The week-long U.N. Conference, which ends on Monday, is partly aimed at cajoling countries into ratifying a series of crime-fighting conventions against cross-border organized crime, corruption and terrorism.
