In a first-of-its-kind step, the Lebanese-American, Canadian, and French Coordination Committees (CCLF, CCLC, LACC) condemned in a joint statement what they termed "the continued violation of Lebanese sovereignty through an attempt to establish a questionable legitimacy for illegal weapons linked to agendas unrelated to Lebanon's national security and to the exploitation of Lebanese diplomacy for this purpose." They expressed that "the push of this diplomacy to amend the provisions of resolutions 1701 and 2650 cannot represent, in any way, the sovereign Lebanese forces." After considering that what is happening rises to "the level of organized crime, whose perpetrators will inevitably be held accountable," they condemned "the repeated assaults by Israel on Lebanese sovereignty" and emphasized the importance of "controlling the open Lebanese borders to all types of smuggling." They called on "the international community to delineate Lebanon's borders with Israel and Syria alike."
This came in a joint statement issued by the three coordination committees that include a group of expatriate organizations in Washington, Paris, and Ottawa, along with the "Civil Impact Forum" as the advisory body for these committees. The statement, published simultaneously in all three capitals, expressed a series of positions in the context of monitoring the insidious Lebanese diplomatic attempt to amend the provisions of resolutions 1701 and 2650, particularly concerning the freedom of movement for UNIFIL forces to enable them to carry out their missions. Following a series of consultations among Lebanese expatriate organizations affiliated with the Lebanese-American, Canadian, and French Coordination Committees (CCLF – CCLC – LACC), the following points were affirmed:
1. The continued violation of Lebanon's sovereignty through an attempt to establish a questionable legitimacy for illegal weapons linked to agendas unrelated to national security has become evident. Today, this is further compounded by the official Lebanese diplomacy's exploitation of this illegal weapon in the UN Security Council and the United Nations, which constitutes a blow to the Lebanese constitution and Lebanon's commitment to UN resolutions. All of this signals the existential threat that now jeopardizes Lebanon at all levels.
2. The irresponsible push of official Lebanese diplomacy to amend the provisions of resolutions 1701 and 2650, after Hezbollah and its allies have long been attacking their content over the years, cannot represent the sovereign Lebanese forces in any way, neither residents nor expatriates. This confirms that the alliance of mafia and militia systems is further away from expressing its project to alter Lebanon's identity in its constitution, as well as its affiliation with the UN and the Arab League and its commitment to their resolutions, of which it is a founding member. This necessitates confronting this systematic destruction of the logic of a free, just, and sovereign state by the sovereign forces, active community forces, the diaspora, and Lebanon's friends in the free world.
3. As Lebanon is a founding member of the United Nations, it remains steadfast in the position of its people to implement the constitution and international resolutions, foremost among them 1559, 1680, 2650, and 1701, condemning the actions of the official Lebanese diplomacy, which it considers as an act of aggression against Lebanon's national security and the humanity of its people, rising to the level of organized crime, whose perpetrators will inevitably be held accountable. The committees urge Lebanon's friends in the free world and the member states of the Security Council to reject all attempts to overturn these resolutions in spirit, text, and practice. They also commend the humanitarian support provided by UNIFIL to the Lebanese community in its areas of operation.
4. We condemn the repeated assaults by Israel on Lebanese sovereignty and demand that the open Lebanese borders be controlled against all types of smuggling that violate Lebanon's sovereignty, peace, and security of its people, exacerbating the economic and living crisis for its citizens. We call on the international community to delineate Lebanon's borders with Israel and Syria alike.
The Lebanese-American, Canadian, and French Coordination Committees pledge to the Lebanese people to continue the struggle for the Lebanese cause and to liberate the Lebanese state from its captors.
