By EDITH M. LEDERER

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Britain has proposed a draft U.N. resolution aimed at punishing recruitment and financing of foreign fighters for the Islamic State militant group now controlling a swath of Syria and Iraq, and all other terrorist groups associated with al-Qaida.
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The early draft, obtained Monday by The Associated Press, calls on all countries to take measures to suppress the flow of foreign fighters to these groups and demands the immediate withdrawal of those already in Iraq and Syria.

It also demands that all militants from the Islamic State group, Jabhat al-Nusra, and other al-Qaida linked groups "cease all atrocities and terrorist acts."

The proposed resolution expresses the Security Council's readiness to impose sanctions on those recruiting, supporting and fighting for terrorist groups, and says a list of individuals will be added to the resolution before its adoption.

Council experts met again Monday to go over the text and several diplomats said they hope the resolution can be adopted as soon as the end of this week.

The draft deplores "in the strongest terms" the terrorist acts and "violent extremist ideology" of the Islamic State group and stresses that "widespread or systematic attacks directed against any civilian populations because of their ethnic background, religion or belief may constitute a crime against humanity."

It cites atrocities by the group including mass executions and the killing of Iraqi soldiers, the deliberate targeting of individuals based on their religion or belief, the kidnapping of civilians, forced displacement of minorities, unlawful use of child soldiers, rape, arbitrary detention and destruction of places of worship.

A council diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because consultations are closed, said the United States wants to add a sentence from a press statement adopted by the council last Thursday that singles out the Islamic State group's attacks that forced hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, many from the vulnerable Yazidi and Christian communities, to flee.

The draft resolution urges all countries to meet their obligation under a 2001 resolution adopted immediately after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States to cooperate in bringing the perpetrators, organizers and sponsors of terrorist acts to justice.

It calls on all countries to take measures to suppress the flow of their citizens and residents to fight for terrorist groups. It also encourages governments to engage with communities "who are most at risk of recruitment and violent radicalization to discourage travel to Syria and Iraq" to fight for the Islamic State group and other terrorist groups.

The draft reaffirms the 2001 resolution's requirement that all countries prevent the financing and active or passive support for terrorist acts. It notes with concern that oil fields controlled by the Islamic State group and others could generate income to support recruitment and terrorist operations, and warns that any involvement in financing terrorism may lead to sanctions.

The draft resolution also calls on all member states not to pay ransom or make political concessions to free hostages kidnapped by the Islamic State group or others associated with al-Qaida.


Source: Associated Press