In a measure of rare consensus among world powers about the need to confront the Islamic State, the United Nations Security Council is preparing to adopt a legally binding resolution intended to choke the terrorist group's ability to trade in antiquities, oil, and hostages. The draft resolution, which was scheduled to be discussed by Council members in a closed meeting Friday afternoon, requires all 193 member states of the United Nations to prevent the sale of antiquities from Syria, similar to a measure the Council passed 10 years ago regarding antiquities from Iraq. It also calls for sanctions against those who help the banned terrorist organization produce and smuggle oil out of Syria, and reminds all countries around the world that it is already illegal to pay the group ransom in exchange for hostages. the draft resolution was proposed by Russia and backed by the United States and other Western powers. The Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly I. Churkin, said Friday afternoon that he expected it to be adopted next week. Despite stubborn differences on what to do about the war in Syria, an American official said earlier in the day that American diplomats had "worked relatively constructively" with their Russian counterparts. The draft resolution is under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, though it does not authorize the use of military force. Council resolutions already prohibit providing financial support of any kind to the Islamic State, as well as to a Qaeda affiliate operating in Syria known as the Nusra Front. The draft measure cites the trade in oil, making it specifically illegal to buy oil produced or sold by those groups, or to supply equipment to help them run oil refineries, though the plummeting price of oil is believed to have reduced how much the group earns from doing so. The draft also refers to a previous resolution that prohibits the payment of ransom to banned terrorist organizations, though it does not specifically address the issue of prisoner exchanges. A United Nations panel late last year estimated that the Islamic State received more than $35 million in ransom payments over the past year, though it could not quantify how much it made from the sale of antiquities, directly or from taxing dealers who operated in its territory. The draft resolution does not add any new names to the list of individuals who face sanctions already, though it asks a United Nations sanctions committee to "immediately consider designations of individuals and entities engaged in oil trade-related activities." Syria is home to six United Nations World Heritage sites, including the Ancient City of Damascus and the Ancient City of Aleppo. All six are considered in danger by UNESCO, and five have suffered "significant damage," according to a report released last week by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. "The influence of Syria's history on modern society is hard to overestimate," the letter says. The letter says looting has turned Syria's heritage sites into "weapons of war," with the sale of antiquities "fuelling the conflict." "An international ban is needed now," the letter reads. A breakdown of law and order in Syria since fighting started in 2011 has resulted in museums being looted and ancient artifacts stolen, according to reports by UNESCO. This summer, members of the Syrian Heritage Task Force(SHTF), a group chaired by Syrian academic professors that trains workers in artifact preservation, told him that ISIS militants were starting an organized and fast-paced effort to loot and dig up historic and culturally significant sites. Militants are using bulldozers and causing untold damage to sites, before giving artifacts to middlemen who arrange their shipment to buyers around the world, the SHTF said. UNESCO has been working in Syria since 2012 to safeguard historic sites and prevent artifact trafficking and has maintained a website with updates on its efforts. In a July statement on UNESCO's website, Director-General of Antiquities and Museums of Syria Maamoun Abdulkarim described "vast regions" of the country as "distressed cultural areas due to the exacerbation of the clandestine excavation crimes and deliberate damage to our historic monuments and cultural landmarks in those regions." On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, where he condemned ISIS for its destruction of cultural sites. "[ISIS] is not only beheading individuals; it is tearing at the fabric of whole civilizations," said Kerry, who cited the Tomb of Jonah in the Syrian city of Aleppo, a holy site sacred to Christians, Muslims and Jews, as an example of a sacred site believed to have been blown up by the militant group.
