(MENAFN- QNA) Two days after the United States and the coalition nations began bombing Islamic State positions in Syria, US President Barack Obama will chair a United Nations Security Council meeting tonight that will seek to legitimize the military action and urge countries to prevent their citizens from joining extremist groups.
The US has drafted a Security Council resolution that will bind countries to adopt laws to prosecute their nationals who fund terrorist organizations or who travel abroad to join them.
The resolution would make it illegal to allow terrorists to cross international borders, forcing airlines to make passenger lists available to governments who must then share that information with other states.
US officials say 15,000 foreign fighters presented in Syria trying to overthrow the government of President Bashar al-Assad. Most have come from the region though hundreds have also joined the fight from Europe and the United States.
European nations and the US have already adopted measures to prosecute their citizens for becoming members of terrorist organizations.
However not all nations agree on who a terrorist is. The UN General Assembly has failed over the years to come up with a common definition of terrorism.
The US for example has designated Hamas and Hezbollah as a terrorist organization though Europe long resisted naming them so. The resolution would leave it up to each country to decide whether it considers a group terrorist or not.
The resolution has no way to be enforced but leaves open the possibility that governments who support terrorists could face economic sanctions.
The measure is legally binding and Western diplomats believe it will pass the 15-member council. Russia, which has a veto on the council, is not expected to block it.
Moscow has been as concerned about terrorism as the West. Russia says it wants to see the Islamic State destroyed, but objects to the US bombing Syria without consent and coordination with the Syrian government, which the US, in calling for Assad's overthrow, refuses to do.
Russian news agencies reported on Tuesday that Moscow is considering joining the fight against the Islamic State but few details were released.
The United States has argued that it is legal to attack targets in Syria without Damacus' consent under Article 51 of the UN charter which gives nations, in this case Iraq, the right to self-defense and to pursue a danger across national boundaries.
Obama is chairing the meeting because the United States holds the presidency of the Security Council for the month of September.
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