U.N. Council Resolution Urges No Ransom to Terrorists UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations Security Council on Monday pressed governments around the world not to pay ransom money to terrorist kidnappers. The resolution, submitted by Britain and unanimously passed by the 15-member Council, is not enforceable, nor does it resolve the longstanding dispute at the United Nations over the definition of a terrorist. The British ambassador to the United Nations, Mark Lyall Grant, told reporters the resolution was intended to send a message to terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda that rely on ransom payments as a major source of financing. "We need to be honest about the impact ransoms have in sustaining terrorist activity," the ambassador said. Governments rarely confirm, let alone publicly discuss, the details of ransom payments to kidnappers. The resolution applies only to payments to terrorist organizations, not other types of kidnappers.