A UN Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters in New York. (Credit: UN)
BEIRUT — The Foreign Ministry accused Lebanon's former representative to the UN Amal Mudallali of failing in 2022 to push hard enough for a clause that would limit freedom of movement in the annual renewal mandate for the UNIFIL border peacekeeping force.
The renewal this last August was passed, without reforms requested by Beirut that would require UNIFIL to coordinate with Lebanese authorities in order to move around Lebanese territory. Instead, UNIFIL can continue to "conduct its operation independently," according to the agreed Resolution 2659, published by the UN.
The decision sparked an outcry.
"After the publication of the decision, the Ministry inquired with the representations of the concerned countries regarding their lack of responsiveness to the requests of the Lebanese mission in New York in August 2022. They indicated that the follow-up on this matter, through meetings with the [Lebanon's] representative, was not conducted at the required level," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
The renewal of the UN peacekeeping force this year comes amid increasing tensions along the Lebanese-Israeli border.
"The Ministry insists on the rules of UNIFIL's work with the army, which have been in place since 2006. (...) The imminent retirement [of Ambassador Mudallali] does not exempt her from her responsibility towards Lebanon's interests," the ministry said.
In late August, Mudallali defended herself against the criticisms from Lebanese diplomats. "I did not think that some would believe that an ambassador is capable of changing a decision of the Security Council and major nations, alone and without the support of their country," she stated.
UNIFIL, which currently consists of just over 10,000 peacekeepers, was established in 1978 by the Security Council to confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon. Its mandate is renewed annually, following approval from the Lebanese authorities and a vote in the Security Council.
*This article was corrected on September 6, 2023: we had referred to Lebanon's current representative at the UN when in fact it was former representative Amal Mudallali.