The Ineffectiveness of the UN Travel Bans Exposed (Again)
By Douglas Farah
Well, if we needed further evidence of the lack of effectiveness of the United Nations travel ban lists (supposedly obligatory lists that ban the individual from traveling from his/her home country), we need look no further.
Just ask Gen. Mohammad Basqer Zolqadr, a Iranian Revolutionary Guard general and deputy interior minister. He publicly and happily violated the UN ban with a recent official visit to Russia. He not only traveled to Russia unimpeded despite being on the recently-mandated ban under Resolution 1747 because of his role in Iran's nuclear program, but he bragged that the six-day sojourn showed just how ineffective the resolution is.
"Despite resolution 1747 which imposed a travel ban on some members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, including me, I traveled to Russia and no restriction was applied," Zolgadr crowed on returning home.
He is right. Without real international cooperation, the ability to violate the travel ban lists with impunity only add to the problem they are supposed to be tackling. My full blog is here.