The Role Of The United Nations Security Council In Combating Terrorism Financing Since 2001: Prospects And Challenges

ABSTRACT The study sought to examine how terrorism is financed in the world and the efforts being made by the UNSC to prevent terrorism financing. The study relied on both scholarly literature and key UN documents, especially UNSC resolutions adopted by the UN from the year 2001 to 2015 to analyze and discuss how terrorist activities are financed, the efforts by the UNSC in combating terrorist financing and the prospects and challenges in the efforts by the UNSC in combating terrorist financing. The study determined that terrorist activities are financed through legal and illegal activities. The legal activities are through donations, charities, fund raising, honey production and State sponsored activities. The illegal means are through criminal proceeds, kidnapping and ransom seeking, invading oil fields to trade, illegal charcoal trade, drug trafficking and money laundering. The study further found that the UN has undertaken significant measures to combat terrorism financing; among these are the adoption by the UN of international conventions for the suppression of terrorism financing, curtailing of money laundering, preventing direct donations to terrorist groups to support their activities, and limiting fundraising by terrorist groups. Finally, the study noted that, the efforts by the UN to combat terrorism financing are often hindered by peculiar challenges, among which are innovation and technological challenges, lack of international cooperation among relevant state actors, lack of intelligence sharing and the sidelining of the private sector and civil society organizations. In order to promote UN efforts in this regard, it is recommended, among others, that international cooperation among relevant global players is improved as well as enhancing