UNIFIL's mandate extended for another year

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2650 on Wednesday, extending the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for another year, until August 31, 2023. In this text, the United Nations denounced the "the harassment and intimidation of UNIFIL personnel, as well as the use of disinformation campaigns against peacekeepers" in the border areas of south Lebanon where the troops operate.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, which currently numbers just over 10,000 peacekeepers, was established in 1978 by the Security Council to confirm the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon. After the summer 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, UNIFIL was responsible for monitoring the cessation of hostilities and the application of resolution 1701. Its mandate is renewed each year, after approval by the Lebanese authorities and a vote by the Security Council.

The resolution adopted unanimously by the 15 members stresses "the risk that violations of the cessation of hostilities could lead to a new conflict that none of the parties or the region can afford."

The new resolution also extends for six months "temporary and special measures" that were taken during the last renewal and which include assisting the Lebanese Armed Forces with "the provision of relevant additional non-lethal material (fuel, food and medicine) and logistical support." But this support should not be seen as "a precedent in the future nor a long term solution," the text notes.

Resolution 2650 also calls for "an effective and durable deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces in southern Lebanon and the territorial waters of Lebanon at an accelerated pace to fully implement the provisions of resolution 1701," which ended the 2006 conflict and called for the disarmament of nonstate armed groups, implying Hezbollah.

No prior authorization

The UN also calls on the various parties to "visibly mark the Blue Line in its entirety, as well as to move forward on the marking of its points of contention," recalling that this demarcation is not delimited on half of its route, which can cause strains when crossing from one side of the line to the other.

The Council further noted that UNIFIL "does not require prior authorization or permission to undertake its mandated tasks and that UNIFIL is authorized to conduct its operation independently." It calls on the parties to guarantee UNIFIL's freedom of movement, including by allowing "announced or unannounced" patrols. The text also condemns "the harassment and intimidation of UNIFIL personnel, as well as the use of disinformation campaigns against peacekeepers," calling on peacekeepers to "monitor and to counter disinformation and misinformation." This passage refers to multiple incidents that have occurred in recent months between UN patrols and residents of localities in the southern region, many of whom are Hezbollah supporters. The latter often accuse UNIFIL soldiers of filming infrastructure without permission or of circulating without being accompanied by the Lebanese army.

The UN document also criticizes the installation by Hezbollah, along certain portions of the border of containers "which restrict UNIFIL’s access to, or visibility of, the Blue Line" and condemns "the continued maintenance of arms outside the control of the Lebanese State by armed groups in violation of resolution 1701."

Since the beginning of the summer, against the backdrop of tensions over the maritime border negotiations, Hezbollah has intensified its activities on the border with Israel. In addition to the gradual redeployment of its fighters returning from Syria, the party has set about installing a dozen containers on the edge of the wall built by Israel, without UNIFIL being able to access them. To this day, the exact function of these containers is a mystery. Some believe that they are used for the purposes of monitoring and gathering information from the movements of the Israeli forces.