UN council at odds over peacekeeping operation in Lebanon

People gather in honor of the victims at the scene of the last week's explosion that killed many and devastated the city, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) (Hussein Malla, Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

TANZANIA ā€“ The U.N. Security Council remains at odds over the way the U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon operates on the ground, with the United States backing Israelā€™s demands for major changes.

At a closed council meeting Tuesday on the mission known as UNIFIL, whose mandate is up for renewal at the end of the month, U.S. Ambassador Kelly Craft stressed the need for a new mandate.

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ā€œThe U.S. has long reiterated publicly and privately that the status quo in Lebanon is unacceptable,ā€ Craft said in a statement to The Associated Press after the meeting. ā€œNow is the time to empower UNIFIL, end the long complacency, and enable the mission to fully achieve what it was set out to accomplish.ā€

But Craft faces an uphill struggle because most of the council backs a continuation of the current UNIFIL mandate.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wrote to the council on July 29 recommending a 12-month renewal of UNIFILā€™s mandate, stressing the importance of maintaining high troop strength.

In his latest report to the Security Council, the U.N. chief underscored the importance of UNIFILā€™s work as it continues to maintain peace and provide stability at a difficult time for the country, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Wednesday.

Earlier on Wednesday, France circulated a draft resolution that diplomats said would extend the current UNIFIL mandate for a year. The diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because discussions have been private, predicted tough negotiations before the mandate expires on Aug. 31.

UNIFIL was created to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops after a 1978 invasion. The mission was expanded after a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah militants so that peacekeepers could deploy along the Lebanon-Israel border to help Lebanese troops extend their authority into their countryā€™s south for the first time in decades.

Germanyā€™s deputy U.N. ambassador GĆ¼nter Sautter told the council in remarks circulated by the countryā€™s U.N. mission that ā€œrecent tensions and the danger of escalation only underline the importance of UNIFIL presence on the ground.ā€ He said ā€œthe new political reality" since last weekā€™s devastating explosion at Beirut's port made it "more important than ever.ā€

ā€œUNIFILā€™s mandate continues to be of utmost importance,ā€ Sautter said. ā€œIt is clear that UNIFIL will not be able to do more with less. We therefore fully support UNIFIL in its current mandate and strength, and we hope that the council will once more show unanimous support to this important mission.ā€

Israel has repeatedly accused Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants of impeding the peacekeepers from carrying out their mandate.

Israelā€™s former ambassador Danny Danon said in May that Israel will insist that peacekeepers have access to all sites, that they have freedom of movement and that any time they are being blocked the U.N. Security Council must be immediately informed.

Craft said at that time that UNIFIL was being ā€œprevented from fulfilling its mandateā€ and Hezbollah had ā€œbeen able to arm itself and expand operations, putting the Lebanese people at risk.ā€

She said the Security Council ā€œmust either pursue serious change to empower UNIFIL or realign its staffing and resources with tasks it can actually accomplish.ā€

As of June 15, UNIFIL comprised 10,275 military personnel from 45 troop-contributing countries, 238 international civilian staff and 580 national civilian staff.

Its Maritime Task Force comprised six vessels, two helicopters and 864 of the forceā€™s military personnel. However, one vessel was damaged in last weekā€™s deadly explosion and 23 naval personnel from Bangladesh were injured, two critically. Dujarric, the U.N. spokesman, said Wednesday that four remain hospitalized in stable condition,

Jan Kubis, the United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon, and U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix briefed Tuesdayā€™s virtual council meeting.

Kubis urged the rapid formation of a new government following Mondayā€™s resignation of Prime Minister Hassan Diab and his Cabinet.

The U.N. quoted him as telling the council: ā€œThere are immediate humanitarian needs that need to be addressed and necessary reforms that need to be undertaken without any delay to restore the trust of the Lebanese people, and of the international community in Lebanon.ā€


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