BEIRUT — Parts of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' quarterly report on resolution 1701 “do not reflect the reality of what Lebanon is going through because of the presence of Syrian refugees,” Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Wednesday. This report provides a comprehensive assessment of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the conflict between Israel and Lebanon in 2006.
Here’s what we know:
• “Certain passages in this report do not reflect the reality of what Lebanon is going through on several levels, due to the presence of around 1.5 million Syrian refugees on its soil,” said Aoun as he received United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka.
• “Lebanon hoped that the report would focus on the consequences of displaced Syrians in Lebanon,” said Aoun, who regularly raises this issue with the international community. “Lebanon can no longer bear this situation …The report does not take into account the harmful consequences of the displacements on the economic, social and human sectors, in particular the increase in crime rates.”
• President Aoun, who wants to encourage Syrians to return to their country, also wondered about the “lack of answers” from the international community on this subject. “This makes us wonder about the intentions of certain countries to keep Syrians in Lebanon,” he said.
• Aoun also reiterated his determination that the May 15 legislative elections be held on the scheduled date.
• The UN Security Council held closed-door consultations in New York on Thursday, March 17, in the presence of Jean-Pierre Lacroix the under-secretary-general for Peace Operations, to hear Joanna Wronecka's presentation on the latest quarterly report by Guterres on the application of resolution 1701 and the situation in Lebanon.