Leaked Security Council draft: UNIFIL mandate extended 1 year.Byline: Patrick GaleySummary: <p>The draft to extend the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, was created by the United Nations, with the adoption of Security Council Resolution 425 and 426 on March 19, 1978, to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, restore international peace and security, and help the (UNIFIL UNIFIL United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon ) has been made available to the media, a day before an official Security Council decision is expected.AaLebanese papers on Wednesday carried leaked copies of the draft, overseen by French diplomats, which called on member states, as well as Lebanon and Israel. BEIRUT: The draft to extend the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been made available to the media, a day before an official Security Council decision is expected.AaLebanese papers on Wednesday carried leaked copies of the draft, overseen by French diplomats, which called on member states, as well as Lebanon and Israel to "help secure a permanent ceasefire in the long-term solution as mentioned in Resolution 1701."Aa It states that the Security Council has decided "to extend the mandate of UNIFIL until August 31, 2010."Aa Deputy UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti told The Daily Star that it would refrain from commenting on the draft until an official announcement had been made from New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of .Aa "I would say that we should wait and see what happens tomorrow and wait until the actual resolution comes out," he said.Aa "I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. where they got their information from."Aa Speculation has been mounting ahead of the extension deadline that Libya -- the only Arab Security Council member -- is pushing for an article mentioning all "serious violations" of Resolution 1701. However, An-Nahar quoted Wednesday a "western source" who described such conjecture CONJECTURE. Conjectures are ideas or notions founded on probabilities without any demonstration of their truth. Mascardus has defined conjecture: "rationable vestigium latentis veritatis, unde nascitur opinio sapientis;" or a slight degree of credence arising from evidence too weak or too as a "big error."Aa While the draft mentions "deep concern over violations relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc Resolution 1701, especially the latest dangerous violations," it stops short of explicitly citing incidents such as the arms cache blast near Khirbet Silim, southern Leba-non, in July and persistent flyovers by Israeli jets, which many view as flagrant fla·grant adj. 1. Conspicuously bad, offensive, or reprehensible: a flagrant miscarriage of justice; flagrant cases of wrongdoing at the highest levels of government. See Usage Note at blatant. 2. violations of UN law.Aa Former long-term UNIFIL adviser Timor Goksel told The Daily Star that mentioning the violations without specific reference to individual incidents was significant as it put them "on the record."Aa He suggested that the draft could have been leaked to gauge regional reaction ahead of any official announcement.Aa Security Council Resolution 1701 was drafted to end the 2006 war between Lebanon and Israel and extended UNIFIL's operational mandate while expanding its troop numbers between the Litani River Litani River River, southern Lebanon. Rising west of Baalbek, it flows southwest between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountains to enter the Mediterranean Sea south of Sidon. Its lower course is known as Qasimiyah. and the Blue Line -- the boundary of Israeli military withdrawal from Lebanon.Aa The draft reiterates the necessity of "demarcating the Blue Line and reaching an agreement concerning the upper part of Ghajar."Aa Ghajar's residents live in a town which straddles the marker between Israel and Lebanon. Although they have Israeli identification cards, debate rages as to what should become of the village, with Israel bullish on the prospect of its inhabitants
The game is based loosely on the concepts from SameGame. gaining Lebanese citizenship.Aa The draft also "stresses the importance that UNIFIL be equipped with all necessary material to execute its mandate," to which Goksel expressed surprise. "I thought they were well equipped, I don't think that [UNIFIL troops] are missing anything."Aa Earlier this month, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-Moon (bän kē-m  n), 1944–, South Korean diplomat, secretary-general of the United Nations (2007–), b. Chungju, grad. Seoul National Univ. (B.S. wrote a letter
to the Security Council calling for the extension of UNIFIL's
mandate "without amendment." In it he expressed concern that a
reduced amount of equipment and personnel could hamper UNIFIL's
ability to operate effectively. Ban also called the alleged stockpiling stock·pile n. A supply stored for future use, usually carefully accrued and maintained. tr.v. stock·piled, stock·pil·ing, stock·piles To accumulate and maintain a supply of for future use. of weapons close to the Blue Line by groups other than the Leba-nese Army and UNIFIL "a clear violation" of 1701.Aa Goksel cited Article Five of the draft -- which states the UN's "intolerance toward any form of sexual exploitation or abuse" and calls for all member states "to take all necessary measures to prevent such actions and punish the culprits" -- as particularly unexpected.Aa "There has never been any reference to staff problems [in previous extensions]. If anything that serious has happened then we should have heard about it," he said. "To put it in the operational part of the mandate doesn't make sense."Aa The new draft states the importance of keeping the area "free of armed individuals or any arms except those pertaining per·tain intr.v. per·tained, per·tain·ing, per·tains 1. To have reference; relate: evidence that pertains to the accident. 2. to the Lebanese Government and UNIFIL."Aa Although UNIFIL's operational mandate remains ostensibly os·ten·si·ble adj. Represented or appearing as such; ostensive: His ostensible purpose was charity, but his real goal was popularity. unchanged, the draft asks the ecretary general "to continue presenting reports to the council concerning the execution of Resolution 1701 once every four months and whenever he deems necessary."Aa Western sources told An-Nahar that "the revision is part of a broader project concerning the mandates of all peacekeeping forces across the world in the aim of allowing the forces to better perform their duties."Aa Goksel said that the operational continuity of the draft had been expected: "From an operative [stance] there's nothing new."Aa According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the draft, the UN believes that Lebanon "still represents a threat to international peace and security."Aa An official announcement is expected from the Security Council on Thursday. Copyright 2009, The Daily Star. All rights reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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