US to lead UN Security Council meeting on terror financing

US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew will chair a first-ever summit of the finance ministers of the UN Security Council this month, to discuss combating terror group finances, the Treasury said Friday.

There will be a particular focus on the jihadist Islamic State group.

The December 17 meeting at the United Nations in New York is expected to adopt a resolution designed to choke off terror groups' sources of finance, the Treasury said in a statement.

It will be the first such meeting of finance ministers specifically from Security Council member nations, the Treasury said, calling it a demonstration of "the increasingly specialized work needed to combat terrorism."

Cutting the Islamic State group off from the international financial system and disrupting its financing "are critical to effectively combating this violent terrorist group," Lew said in a statement.

"A united international front is vital to achieve that goal."

The Treasury has undertaken extensive efforts since the terror attacks of 2001 to trace and combat the financing of violent extremist groups around the globe.
Source: AFP