Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani

Upon instruction from my Government, I would like to draw your attention to the following information.

On 27 November 2016, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Qatari regime, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, stated in an interview with Reuters, in his office in Doha, that: “Qatar will continue to arm Syrian rebels even if Donald Trump ends U.S. backing for the multinational effort.” He also stated in the same interview that: “This support is going to continue, we are not going to stop it. It doesn’t mean that if Aleppo falls we will give up … Even if the regime captures it [Aleppo], I am sure they [the rebels] will have the ability to capture it back from the regime ... We need more military support.”

It is well known that the royal family in Qatar is the foremost supporter of the “Nusrah Front” terrorist group in Syria. In this regard, I would like to refer to a statement made on 12 May 2015, by the current Minister of State for Defence of the Qatari regime, Khalid bin Mohammad al-Atiyah, when he was Minister for Foreign Affairs, in an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde. In his answer to a question about his Government’s position towards “Nusrah front” and whether it considered it a terrorist group, Mr. Al-Atiyah stated: “We are clearly against any kind of extremism. However, with the exception of Da’esh, all of those groups fight to overthrow the regime. Moderates cannot say to Nusrah Front: ‘stay home, because we do not want to work with you.’ Field conditions must be taken into consideration and we should be realistic.”

The official statements made by both the current and former Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Qatari regime constitute public confessions of the Qatari regime’s involvement in supporting terrorists in Syria and providing terrorist groups with weapons and finance, in particular the “Nusrah Front” terrorist organization, in violation of the relevant resolutions of the Security Council, in a challenge to the will of the international community to combat terrorism and in contravention of the Council’s unanimous designation of “Nusrah Front” as a terrorist entity.

According to paragraphs 3 to 8 of Security Council resolution 2253 (2015), adopted pursuant to Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, it befalls on the Security Council and its Committee established pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) concerning Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities to immediately act and take the measures appropriate and necessary for holding these individuals and the Government that they represent fully accountable for supporting terrorism, challenging the international community, violating the Council’s resolutions and threatening international peace and security.

Resolution 2253 (2015) and other relevant resolutions have been decisive and clear in deciding that sanctions should be imposed on individuals and entities linked to ISIL (Da’esh) and “Nusrah Front”. On that basis, I request that you take the measures necessary for applying resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015) against those who support “Nusrah Front” in Syria, including the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Qatari regime, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the Minister of State for Defence of the Qatari regime, Khalid bin Mohammad al-Atiyah, and the Qatari regime, as individuals and an entity in association with the “Nusrah Front” terrorist group.

It would be highly appreciated if the present letter were circulated as a document of the Security Council.

Source : S/2012/1012