S/PV.2705 Security Council

I wish first of all warmly to Welcome the Secretary-General, Mr. Javier Perez da CUellar. We are eXtCer;bly pleased, Mr. Secretary-General, to see you here in your accustomed place at the Council table. We are very happy that you have won your battle with illness and that you look just as we would wish to see you; fully recovered, energetic and full of spirit. I express to you the warmest best wishes. EXPRESSION OF TElARRS lU THE REIIRMG PRESIDENT The PR!?SIDRNT (interpretation from Russian) t As this is the fitst meeting of the Secut ity Council UIie month, I should like to pay a deserved tribute, an behalf of the Council and on my own behalf, to my predecessor, His Ruceilency MC. D.&N. JUleyne, Permanent Representative of Trinidad and ‘Ibbago to the united Nations, for his dedicated service ae President of the Council for the ,ia+nth of Auguet. I am sure that I speak for all member8 of the Council in expressing our admiration and deep appreciation to Ambassador Alleyne for the great diplomatic Sk ill and unfa/ling courtesy with which he conducted the Council ‘8 businees last aranth. EXPREBSION OF APPRECIATION The PREgIDm (interpretation from I(uesian): Gn this the first occasion when I join you at a formal meeting of the scurity Council, I should like to express my sincere appreciation to all of you for the warm welcome extended to me since I assumed my duties as We new Permanent Rappreeentative of the Union of Soviet Socialist Replolica to the United Rations , and assure you of my full oo-3peration in our common efforts. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA The agenda was a&pted. THE SITUATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST - DATED 4 SEPA’PIDER 1986 FROM THE PiiRMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF FRAN& ‘l’0 THE UNITED NATXONS ADDRESSP) fl) THE AiESXDENT OF THE SECURITY aUNCIL (S/18318) The PRESIDB3T (interpretation from Russian): I should like to inform melabets of the Council that I have received a letter from the representative of Lebanon in which he requests to be invited to participate in the discussian of the item cn the Council ‘8 agenda. In canformity with the usual practice, 1 prop09er with the consent of the Council, tro invite that representative to participate in the discussion without the right to vote, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter and rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules Of procedure. There being no objection, it te 80 decided. At the invitation of the President, Mr. Fakhoury (Lebanon) took a place st the Council table.

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on it8 agenda. The Security Comcil is meeting today in response to a request contained in a letter addressed to the President of the Security Council on 4 September 1986 by the Permanent Represenbtive of France to the United Uattcne (S/18318). The Secretary-General of the united Nations wishes to make a sttttement~ f call upon him.

Mr. President, first of all I should like to thank you for your extremely kind words. The Security Council is meeting today in very difficult and grievous circumstances. A5 I have had the opportunity to inform the merd>ers of the Council through the President, a series of violent incident6 took place in the UNIFIL zone between 11 and 22 August, during which two Lebanese and me member of the Irish oontingent were killed and several soldiers of the Pren& -nUngent were wow&d. After 22 August, there was a quiet period during which UNIPIL made an effort, wfth the co-operation of the Lebanese authorities and leadare of the Amal movement, to reduce tension and re-eatablieh calm in the r&on. Unfortunately, &spite thoee efforts , a 6ertoue inci&nt oazurred during the morning of yesterday, Thursday, 4 Septerrber, vhen three French 501diere were killed by a remote-control bomb near the village of Joya ill the sector of the bench cm t ingent. The Commander of the Force imrpediately ordered an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the incident , and preliminary reports make it perfectly clear that the bomb was detonated de1 ibera tely . In a Ores6 oonnnunk~d released yesterday, I most viqwoualy con&rnned thie cowardly attack upon meeers of the wrench ccmtingent of UMIPIL. (The Secretary-General) I also wish to inform the Council that this very marnfng some 30 Israeli mldi43KB -KKfed out a he1 ioopter Kaid in the village of Zibqin in the secWK of the NepaleBe contingent. uNI.FIL iuunmediately dispatched two laobile team5 to the village, and tile Commander of the Force pro&f3ted against the raid to the Israeli authorities. ACCOKding to the preliminary report of the Force commanderr an Israeli SOldiet was killed duK ing the operatim and four Lebanese villagers were taken away by the Israel is. These recent incidents most tragically stress the extremely difficult carditions in whi& the soldtars of UNIFIL must work. &J the i$tX!UKity Council fS already aware, I decided to send to the region a mission of inquiry to consider, t.Ogethst with the Lebanese Gwernment , measures to be taken to ensure that the RMW 18 able fi0 -Cry o&It effectively, in the required secure conditions, the mandate enttusted to it by the Security Council in its resolution 425 (19781. Because of the incident of yesterday morning, I moved up the date of the departure of that missiar. The mission, &Lch is headed by Mr. Goulding, Under-Secretary-General for Special Political Affairs, left New York last night. Hr. tiulding will submit to me the recommendations of his mission as soon as possible, and naturally I shall report to the &NXIK iw C.XJncil as soon as I receive them. Of coutee, I shall do everything possible within the limits of my canptence and eutiotity to avoid a recurrence of the remnt incidente, te strengthen the security of the meeers of UNIpIL and to enable the Porte to CaKKy Out its mandate. But here I must recall that, es is the case with all United Naticns ----b-m‘rr ..hU_ &‘W *N-t. yzu”’ ““-r*..g “pG*oc-“.-, “..Y LY =.a= --a. L _..a a*-rr‘..r -ac ,,“C S.O.G “Vh.“...b SAA ic_a ex~~d1eKS may ry”U’ , I-- rem t to the use of force only in legitimate self-de fence. That being so, UNIPIL can carry out its mandate only if all the parties involved extend to it the rquired co-operation and if it benefits from the confidenoz and unreserved support , -7 (The Secretar y-Cener al) two ccnditions are absolutely essential, given the difficult and canplex circumstrrnces in southher n Lebanon. I should like to express tc the French and Irish Gcvernmnts, as well as to the families of the victims of these recent incidents, my sympathy and profound oondolences. X should also like to pey a tribute to the courage and dedication demonstrated by the members of all the CJNIFIL ccntingents in carrying out their difficult and dangerous mission. Finally, I should like to take this opportunity to thank the &vermnts of those countries that send cartingents to the Force for the cooperation and support they are so generously giving that important United Katicns peace-keeping opecaticn in the Hiddle east. The PRESXDDENT (interpretation from Russian): hs a result of consultations held among members of the Security Council, I have been authorized tO make the follaaing statement on behalf of the members of the *cur ity Council. -The members of the Security Council express their deep sorrow at the grave and distressing attack6 which killed several members of the Irish and French contingents of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. These attack6 ame after various serious incidents in the recent paet, in particular thase of 11 and 12 August, in the course of which a number of members cf the Force were injured. The members of the Council express their Indignation at such resort tc deliberate violence, which places in jeopardy the safety of the emkora r\F fkr Rrrr- ----- -- -.- m-e-e “They convey their sympathy to the afflicted families and pay tribute to the qualities of ccxnposure, courage and self-sacrifice manifested CollectivelY by all the members of UIUIPIL, in service of the ideals of peace of the (The President) “Given the worsening of the situation in the zone in which lRJIPIL operates, the members of the Security Council consider it essential to adopt with all urgency measures aimed at the effective reinforcement of the SeCUrftY of the members of the Force and request the Secretary-General to undertake all necessary steps to that effect. “The members of the Security Council express their eppreciaticn to the Secretary-General for his immediate dispatch of a mission led by the Under-Secretary-General, which is to carry out, in aonsultatian with the Lebanese Government, an in-llepth examination of the measures to be taken to enable UNIFIL to carry out its mandate, as laid down in Security Council resolution 425 (1978). effectively in the necessary conditions of SeCwitY- *They invite the Secretary-General to submit to the security council, as soon as possible, the report which he will prepare following the mission. .The members of the Council unanimously express their confidence in the Secretary-General and the Commander of the Force in the current difficult ci~cam3tances: The first speaker is the representative of Franoe, on whom I now Call. Mr= de KlFMOULAKIA (France) (interpretation from French): First, Hr. President, I wish to express to you our best wishes for a successful presidency. My delegation has already witnessed your exceptional courtesy ahd the flexibility and high quality of your diplomacy. I also wish to tell the Deputy Permanent Representative of Trinidad and nDbago how mch we appreciated the presidency of Ambassador Alleyne. I join you, Mr. President, in saying haw happy we are to have the Secretary-General back among us in excellent form. France asked for an urgent meeting of the Council because of the rapid deterioration of the situation in southern Lebanon. w very serious attacks have taken place, only a few days apart , costing the life of an Irish officer end three French soldiers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanar (UNIFIL). Those attack5 folly serious incidents in which, for a month ncm, members of several contingents of the force have in turn fallen victim, particularly, as everyone recalls, and as the Secretary-General has just mentioned, 16 French soldiers on 11 and 12 August. My government has oondemned those attacks in the strongest terms. It welcollms the expressions of sympathy to UNIFIL and the cmtributinq countries by the people and the Government ot Lebanon. But the present situation, in which soldiers of an international force serving peace are cut down in a cowardly manner, ha6 become intolerable. It must be en&d immediately. When proposing last April that the council decide on a short mandate, we wished to lead the international mumunity to evaluate IJNIFIL*s work better. our appeal was heeded. The Secretariat immediately entered into corW.IltatiOns With *e parties ouncerned and a dialogue began. In giving for the first time unanimous support for the renewal of lJ?dIFIL’s mandate, on 18 July, the Security Council showed that the international wmunity as a whole muld from new on measure up (Hr. de Kemoular ia, FK~IICO) we must, however, note that the persistent efforts made have not yet succeeded. UNIPIL is still not in a position to carry out ita miesion in the essential ‘carditions of security and effectiveness. That is vhy , after the incident6 of 11 and 12 August, we made the President of the Security Council aware of the need for a general review of the substantive problems facing UNIPIL in fulfilling its mandate, with a view to drawing the appropriate conclusions. In that cantext, a8 was our desire, the Secretary-General has sent to the area with extreme urgency a high-level mission ti a88888 the situation. The meet recent attack8 have tide the situation euen more preCa:iOUs and dangetous. It ia no larger pcS5ible to carry QI waiting. Thetefcre, France ie pressing for the urgent a&option of measurea aimed at strengthening the security of all the members of the Fora. Accordingly, we note with satisfaction - and we thank tke Gecretary-General for this - the immediate dispatch of Mr. Gculding to the area. We expect that he will without delay take all the neoeeeary practical measures and that the Secretary-General will submit to UB all appropriate reaxiauendations. But it is also important that we undertake a general review of tb: kind that we have called for, dealing with all the eubstantive problem6 in the uay of the accomplishment of Vie Fbr~~s miesiar. ‘Ii0 that end, we ask that in the course of hie mission Hr. Goulding should gather together all the factors requiring ~seiM3rpent and review, so that the Council may reach its mnclusicne. We hope that the Secretary-General will, a8 he has juet annOMcedr pteee*t tQ the CoMcil a8 soon ae maaihle his report an b!r. Osulding’s mission tell us of his propoaa 113. I should not wish to conclude this statement without paying tribute to the Secretary-General’s action and the courage and dedication of the officer?; axl soldiers of ONIPIL. The PRSIDENT (interpretation frcw Russian): I thank the representative of France for his kind words addressed to me. MC. WMEVI (Ghana): Mr President, allme at the outset to welam you as the head of the Soviet delegation to the security Council and to express Our eleasw at seeing you preside over the council~s vork a8 President for this month. This pleasure derives fran the excellent relations between your country and mine. MY delete tiOn had the opportunity to meet you briefly when you made your calls cm Missions a few weeks aqo. We have no doubt that your vast eXpeKienCe, wiSd01i1 and skill will greatly help in the council*s work. We can assure you, Sir, of the full co-Operation of the Ghana delega tim. We also wish to place cm reaOrd, Sir, our profound appreciatiar of the excellent mannec in which your immediate pKe&cessoK, Ambassador Allefle Of Trinidad and mbago, handled the Council’s affairs last month. we in the Ghana delegatiar have excellent relations with Ambassador Alleyne and his delegation, relations etaming not only PKOm our shared interests as members of the Nun-Aliwed caucus an the Council, but also from the useful counsel which we in the Ghana deletion have had the privilege of enjoying from the Trinidad and mbago delegatim. fet m also take this opportunity to welame the new Deputy Permanent BZpKe5entative of the United Kingdom delegation, Mr. Birch, to the Security Council. 1 wieh an behalf of the Ghana delegation to convey, through you, Sir, to the Governmenta of France and Ireland and to the bereaved families the deepest Sympathies Of the C;overnment of Ghana for the cruel lo55 of life -asianed by the new attacks on Ftenct~ and Irish-held po5itione in the United Nations Interim FOKCe in Lebanon (IBJIPIL) area. As a representative of a country which has a long list of nationals killed while serving in United Nations peace-keeping operations, including UNIFIL, X convey our sentiments with a heavy heart. (Hr. I)umevi, Ghana) In its concept and practice, peace-keeping is an innwative technique evolved by the United Nations to stabilize serious crisis situations while searching for peaceful solutions. over the years this practice has helped defuse tendon and has allowed the cooling-off periods necessary for peaceful negotiations. It has been one of the mcst useful tools in the hands of the Security Council in ameliorating conflict situations. It is therefore in the interest of all that the concept and the practice of peace-keeping operations should not be impaired. The Ghana delegation, therefore, would like to congratulate the French delegation on its noble initiative. Al though my delegation would have prefer red a more balanced text, we nevertheless support the statement read out by the President, because of its general objective. The fact remains, h-ever, that the major causes of this cycle of violence in UNIFIL’s area of operations are the so-called security zone unilaterally demarcated by ISCad md the presence of Israeli forces and Israeli-sponsored armd group in southern Lebanon. The history of this cycle of violence and the resultant killings et S# that in all cases the incidents originate pr incipally from &3 local ppdation*s resentment of the presence of Israeli forces in the area. It is such sentiments that have driven them to force their way through UNIFIL check-points. In the ensuing arguments, tempers rise and gun-fire is exchanged resulting in the killing and wounding of UNIFIL soldiers. It follows that the way to eliminate such tragic incidents as those that A..-r*rraA 1,naCnrAl.r (0 l lrr ,mrna, ““““-A-” J------, tn ~4 *hAraw itg trmpa from Lebanon in order to -- --- -__-__ -- ..--_---. enable UNIPIL to fulfil its nandate. It is hoped that those possessing political leverage with Israel will muster the political will necessary to prevail UPon Israel to wfthdcsw its troops to the international bOUn&Cy.

I thank the representative of Ghana for the kind words he addressed to me. The next speaker is the represenative of Lebanon, upon whom I naJ call. Mr. FAKSDDDY (Lebanon) (interpretation frm Arabic): I wish at the outset to Congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for this am th and to express our complete confidence in yollr experience and in your ability properly to guide the proceedings of the Council. I wish also to convey to your predecessor, His Excellency the Permanent Representative of Trinidad and nDbago, our appreciation and thanks for the way in which he presided over the work of the Council last uOnth. 1 should like to take this opportunity also to welcome the presence at the Council table of the Secretary-General, MK. Javier Perez de Cuellar, and to wish him a complete reoovery from his illness. The Council is meeting today at the request of France, a friendly country, against a distressing backdrop of incidents and acts of aggression against the United Nations Interim Rxcs in Lebanon (UWXFXL) - specifically against its French and Irish contingents. The victims of these incidents have been Lebanese civilians, and officers and men of UHZFZL. The Lebanese Government and Lebanese officials have condemned all such incidents and have expressed their deep sorraJ and pain at the tragic aftermath. Gn behalf of the Government and the people of Lebanon, my delegation wishes to Convey its deep, heartfelt condolences to the Governments and the peoples of France and Ireland, to the mearbers of UNIFIL, to a11 troop-ccntributing countries, and to the families of the victims. We stress that the Lebanese Government will never spare any effort in contributing to the safety of the metiers of UNIPIL. (Mr. Fakhoury, Lebanon) At Government and popular levels alike , Lebanon is unanimous in its wish to demonstrate complete support for UNIFIL. We expres3 our support for the presence of the Force in Lebanon and our desire to ensure its safety. We insist on enabling LRJIFIL to fulfil the mandate entrusted to it under Security Council resolution 425 (1978) and subsequent resolutions. We have beensteadfast in that genuine unanimity, as demonstrated in more than one forum and on more than one occesim. Once again, we express our great and profound appreciation of the role played by IIRIFIL, of the voluntary contributions by troop-contributing States, and of the tireless efforts of the Secretary-General and his associates. In its peace-keeping activities, URIFIL has paid a high price indeed since its creation. Its mission is a lofty one, and the sacrifices made by those of its members who have fallen in the line of duty will not be in vain. Their noble memory will live in the minds and hearts of Lebanon; we view their sacrifices as a Symbol Of sincere co-operation ataonq nations in &e service of pesw snd in the defence of fairness and justice. The PReSIDRRT (interpretation from Russian): I thank the representative of Lebannan for the kind words he addressed to ma. I wish now to make a statement in my capacity as Permanent Representative of the union of Soviet Socialist Republics. I too wish to convey my sincerest sympathy to the Governrsznts oE Ireland and Prance and to the families of the soldiers of the United Rations Interim Porre in Lebanon (URIPIL) who have perished in Lebanon. There is no question but that armd acts of provocation against United Rations forces deserve condemnation and must be stopped. (The Pre5 ident) These tragic events have awe again em@aaized the dangerous and abnormal amditione in which Unitad Nation5 force5 in Lebanon must operate owing to the fact that for a lang period of Lima now they have been deprived of the pass ibilf ty to Carey out mbampsred the duties entrusted to them by the Security Council. In that connectiQt, we believe it neceesary mce again to state that it is the Council’s direct duty vigorously to work for the implementation, as eeon as possible, of its resolution 42~ (1978) on the basis of JIM thoee forces were created. f new tesum my function5 a5 President of the security Council. There are no further spsakars for this meeting. The Security Council has thus ooncluhd the present stige of it5 aDnsi&watian of the item on the agenda. The meeting rose at 12.55 p.m.