The annual renewal of the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force in South Lebanon (UNIFIL) at the end of August is expected to be a cause of sharp wrangling between the permanent members of the UN Security Council.
Based on information obtained by This is Beirut, certain UNSC members will be asking for the implementation of Resolution 1701 under chapter seven of the UN charter, arguing that the resolution has not been properly applied since it was adopted 18 years ago.
According to a diplomatic source, France, which is in charge of the tricky task of putting into words UNIFIL’s mandate renewal decision, will be consulting with international as well as regional powers about the text’s formulation in order to avoid the use of veto power by any of the Security Council’s five permanent members.
The mandate’s renewal for another year will be obviously in consistence with the new phase of regional developments, and tightly knit with whatever regional solutions that might come up.
However, certain observers do not rule out the possibility of implementing 1701 under chapter seven of the UN charter to compel the belligerents, notably Hezbollah, to abide by its terms, and to prevent Israel from engaging in a military adventure in South Lebanon following a potential ceasefire in Gaza.
