March 17, 2002	Sunday	Muharram 2, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, March 16: The International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (ICSFT) would be enforced on April 10, senior UN officials informed Dawn here on Friday.

The treaty requires all states either to prosecute or extradite persons accused of funding terrorist activities, and banks to enact measures to identify suspicious transactions. The requisite 22 ratifications for entry-into-force of the convention have been completed.

The ICSFT— that urges all states to sign and ratify, accept, approve or accede to the treaty— was opened for signature by the UN from Jan 10, 2000, to Dec 31, 2001.

Final draft of the convention reads that all the states are required to take steps to prevent and counteract the financing of terrorists and their organizations, whether such financing is direct or indirect through bodies which also have or claim to have charitable, social or cultural goals.

The states, according to the treaty, are to intensify the exchange of information concerning international movements of funds suspected to be used for terrorist activities.

It also reads that any person commits an offence if he by any means, directly or indirectly, unlawfully and wilfully, provides or collects funds to be for carrying out any act intended to cause death or serious bodily injury to a civilian, or to any other person not taking an active part in the hostilities in a situation of armed conflict.

The offences described in the convention would be included as extraditable offences in every extradition treaty to be subsequently concluded between the states.

The treaty also provides that the state parties may not refuse a request for mutual legal help on the ground of bank secrecy.

It also makes mandatory on the states to impose regulations on financial institutions for reporting promptly all the complex, unusual large transactions and patterns of transactions to the competent authorities.

The financial institutions would have to maintain, for at least five years, all necessary records on transactions, both domestic and international.

The treaty also makes it mandatory on the states to adopt measures for the supervision, including, for example, the licensing, of all money-transmission agencies.