Lebanon’s Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Minister, Abdullah Bou Habib, began his meetings at the United Nations in New York on Thursday, aiming to ease tensions and maintain security and stability in southern Lebanon, ahead of the anticipated Security Council session at the end of this month for the renewal of UNIFIL’s mandate for another year.
Minister Bou Habib and his accompanying delegation initiated their meetings by discussing with the U.S. Permanent Representative, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, followed by talks with the permanent representatives of the United Kingdom, Japan, and France, in addition to a meeting with Arab ambassadors to the UN, and a lengthy discussion with the Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Mohamed Khaled Khairat.
After reviewing the draft resolution currently proposed in the Security Council regarding the renewal of UNIFIL’s mandate, Minister Bou Habib clearly expressed Lebanon’s rejection of the circulated version as it does not mention the necessity and importance of coordinating UNIFIL's operations with the Lebanese government, represented by the Lebanese Army, as stipulated in the UNIFIL Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA).
The minister reminded that the annual renewal of the international force in the south is requested by the Lebanese government. He also emphasized Lebanon's refusal to legitimize the transfer of UNIFIL's mandate from Chapter VI, according to Security Council Resolution 1701 issued in 2006 which calls for resolving the dispute peacefully, to Chapter VII of the UN Charter which advocates for imposing decisions by force.
Minister Bou Habib underscored the importance of a good relationship between UNIFIL and the authorities and citizens in Lebanon, as well as the need to clarify the land borders to support stability in southern Lebanon. He confirmed that renewing UNIFIL's mandate for another year, as has been customary, falls under Chapter VI of the UN Charter, as the renewal request comes from the Lebanese government annually. He stressed Lebanon’s commitment to ensuring UNIFIL's freedom of movement in coordination with the Lebanese Army to maintain Lebanese sovereignty, facilitate the international force’s tasks, and protect its personnel.
Bou Habib pointed out that clarifying the land borders helps to address ongoing tensions that arise from border disputes. He noted that Lebanon had requested during the tripartite meetings held in Naqoura under UN auspices to continue discussions on addressing disputed areas related to the Blue Line, but the Israeli side has not responded. Therefore, Minister Bou Habib urged Security Council members in his meetings to work towards continuing these discussions.
The Lebanese delegation included the government’s coordinator with UNIFIL, Brigadier General Munir Shihadeh, who presented an overview of the Blue Line, the points of contention for Lebanon, and Israeli violations, attended by a significant number of military attachés from member states of the UN and international staff in the UN Secretariat.
