Statement on United Nations Sanctions Against the Taliban

Today the President of the United Nations Security Council certified that the economic sanctions against the Taliban laid out in Resolution 1267 one month ago are now in effect. These sanctions are being implemented because the Taliban has spurned the unanimous demand of the Security Council and refused to deliver Usama bin Ladin to a country where he can face justice for his acts of terrorism, including the bombing of America's Embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.

The international community has again spoken with one voice, and its resolve to combat the threat of international terrorism is clear. The U.N. sanctions parallel the unilateral ones that the United States placed on the Taliban in July and will result in the restriction of landing rights of airlines owned, leased, or operated by or on behalf of the Taliban, the freezing of Taliban accounts around the world, and the prohibition of investment in any undertaking owned or controlled by the Taliban. I ask all the nations of the world to do their utmost so that these sanctions are implemented fully and swiftly.

The message to the Taliban is unmistakable: bin Ladin's training camps must be closed; the threats and operational activity must cease, and bin Ladin must answer for his crimes. The people of Afghanistan have already paid a high price in isolation because of the Taliban's continued harboring of this terrorist, and that toll will now increase. It is time for the Taliban to heed the will of the United Nations and end the threat of terrorism that emanates from within Afghanistan.