House might ratify UN Conventions on June 22 to save country from being blacklisted

The Legislature Parliament is likely to ratify two key UN Conventions on June
22.
Though one -- UN Convention on Suppression of Terrorism Financing -- was rescheduled to be ratified today, the parliament has rescheduled the date after disturbances in the house proceedings.
UN Convention on Suppression of Terrorism Financing and UN Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime are key conventions for Nepal to ratify not to be black listed.
Nepal will be presenting its progress report to the plenary sessions of joint Financial Action Task Force during the meeting on June 20-24.
However, central bank governor Dr Yubraj Khatiwada and law secretary Madhav Poudel left for Mexico yesterday to take part in the plenary sessions of joint Financial Action Task Force -- a global anti-money laundering agency -- working committee meeting.
Khatiwada will appraise International Cooperation Review Group undear FATF on Nepal's progress on June 20-21. Similarly, on June 22-24, the 35 member states of FATF will discuss on progress on Anti-Money Laundering in their respective countries.
Earlier, the intra-party feud in the UCPN-Maoist has delayed the ratification of the UN Conventions.
Finance Ministry registered both the convention at the parliamentary secretariat after Home Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara refused to register UN Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime due to increasing pressure within his own party.
A country has to fulfil 40 plus nine special recommendations of Financial Action Task Force to comply with the international Anti-Money Laundering practice.
Its purpose is to ensure the adoption, implementation and enforcement of internationally accepted anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing standards.
Nepal has recently ratified UN Convention on combating corruption, amended Anti-Money Laundering Act and approved a separate department to look after Anti-Money Laundering but still has left 36 recommendations untouched.
If Nepal ratifies UN Conventions against Organised Financial Crime and UN Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime and two bills – Mutual Legal Assistance Bill and Extradition Bill -- before governor's presentation, there is still a chance of escaping the black listing.
Earlier, the regional review meeting of FATF in Macau on May 13 had asked Nepal to submit the progress report by June 21 before its plenary takes place on June 20-24 in Mexico. Nepal had in the Macau meeting also requested for deadline extension to meet the requirements as the country is passing through transitional period.
The FATF has forty plus nine special recommendations for the countries to comply not to be black listed.
Of them, the nine special recommendations formed to check terrorist financing include ratification and implementation of UN instruments, criminalising the financing of terrorism and associated money laundering, freezing and confiscating terrorist assets, reporting suspicious transactions related to terrorism, building international cooperation, check alternative remittance, wire transfer, monitor NGOs and cash couriers to check flow of dirty money.

The convention
KATHMANDU: According to United Nations 1999 International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, "If a person by any means, directly or indirectly, unlawfully and wilfully, provides or collects funds with the intention that they should be used or in the knowledge that they are to be used, in full or in part, in order to carry out an act which constitutes an offence within the scope of and as defined in one of the treaties listed in the convention; any other 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, when the purpose of such act, by its nature or context, is to intimidate a population, or to compel a government or an international organisation to do or to abstain from doing any act."