As Lebanon’s wish to amend the Security Council resolution on the renewal of the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL) was not taken into consideration, caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdallah Bou Habib, after consultation with Prime Minister Najib Mikati, announced his rejection of the proposed formula, threatening, at the latter’s request, to withdraw the request for renewing UNIFIL’s mandate.
Bou Habib revealed on Wednesday that “one power opposes any amendment to the Security Council decision, while other countries support Lebanon’s position.”
In an interview with Lebanese daily Nidaa al Watan, he said, “I have always been aware, since the launch of consultations with Security Council members, of the difficulty of amending the resolution and of the tough confrontation with the United States and other countries.”
According to him, “the aim of the amendment is to ensure calm and stability in the south of the country and to avoid scuffles between UNIFIL and the inhabitants, which would be guaranteed by the presence of the army.” He added that, since “the army is not sufficiently numerous to accompany UNIFIL on all its tours, its work can be limited to the important ones, i.e. in places where the presence of the peacekeepers risks provoking tensions with the inhabitants.” Bou Habib also stressed the need to fix the land border with Israel.
Voted on August 31, the resolution extends UNIFIL’s mandate until August 31, 2024. It largely reproduces the wording adopted a year ago on the freedom of movement of some 10,000 peacekeepers, which has since been contested by the Lebanese government and Hezbollah. Lebanon and the pro-Iranian party are calling for amendments to article 16 of the resolution to limit UNIFIL’s ability to move without the army’s permission.
