S/PV.6183 Security Council

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Security Council is meeting in accordance with the understanding reached in its prior consultations. Members of the Council have before them document S/2009/431, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by Belgium, Croatia, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America. I wish to draw the attention of participants to documents S/2009/330 and S/2009/407, containing the tenth report of the Secretary-General on Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) and a letter dated 6 August 2009 from the Secretary-General, respectively. It is my understanding that the Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it. Unless I hear any objection, I shall put the draft resolution to the vote now. There being no objection, it is so decided. A vote was taken by show of hands. In favour: Austria, Burkina Faso, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, France, Japan, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Mexico, Russian Federation, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Viet Nam

There were 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 1884 (2009). I now give the floor to the representative of Israel.

At the outset, allow me to congratulate you, Mr. President, on your stewardship of the Council during the month of August. Israel welcomes the adoption by the Security Council of resolution 1884 (2009) and the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for another year. That peacekeeping mission plays an important role in the implementation of resolution 1701 (2006). Israel commends UNIFIL on the fulfilment of its mandate in a challenging and difficult environment. The situation in southern Lebanon remains complex. The events of the past July shed light upon a dangerous phenomenon about which Israel has been warning. A terrorist organization, Hizbullah, continues to deploy its assets and operates actively both north and south of the Litani River in clear violation of resolution 1701 (2006) and other relevant Security Council resolutions. The region has recently witnessed serious incidents, in which multiple explosions occurred in Khirbat Salim, in southern Lebanon, on 14 July. The Secretary-General, in his letter of 6 August to the President of the Security Council, duly noted that the explosions were caused by “a large quantity of weapons and ammunition” in an arms cache that was “actively maintained” (S/2009/407, pp. 1-2). As I understand it, the same was reported by officials of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) in their briefings to the Council. The Secretary-General further noted the presence of individuals belonging to Hizbullah in the vicinity of Khirbat Salim. In his own words, the Secretary- General wrote unequivocally that “This presence of unauthorized assets or weapons between the Blue Line and the Litani River constitutes a clear violation of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006)” (Ibid., p. 2). The following days witnessed further violations of resolution 1701 (2006), with the obstruction of the freedom of movement of UNIFIL and breaches of the Blue Line by Hizbullah and its supporters. Those additional incidents are clear evidence of the active presence of Hizbullah, a terrorist organization, in southern Lebanon. This, along with the ongoing supply of arms across the penetrable Syrian- Lebanese border, constitutes an increasing threat to peace and stability in the region. In the light of the July incidents, the renewal of the mandate of UNIFIL is an excellent opportunity for the Security Council and DPKO to further encourage UNIFIL to strengthen its good work. Such increased efforts should help ensure that the area between the Blue Line and the Litani River is “an area free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the Government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL” (resolution 1701 (2006), para. 8). In conclusion, I wish to extend Israel’s appreciation to the countries contributing troops to UNIFIL; to the Force Commander, General Graziano; to his officers and staff; and to the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. They all play an important role in an increasingly challenging and difficult environment, and Israel commends their dedication. Israel remains committed to the full implementation of resolution 1701 (2006) and looks forward to cooperating with the Security Council, with the Secretary-General, with DPKO and with UNIFIL in that regard.

I now give the floor to the representative of Lebanon.

Allow me at the outset, Mr. President, to recognize your effective stewardship of the Security Council during the present month. I would also like to acknowledge the leadership shown by your predecessor, the Permanent Representative of Uganda, as President of the Council in July. In a few days it will be the third anniversary of the adoption of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006). In these three years the Lebanese Government has reiterated time and again its commitment to the implementation of that resolution in its entirety and to working closely with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Today, my Government would like, first and foremost, to thank all members of the Security Council for their decision to renew UNIFIL’s mandate for a further year, without amendment to its mission, its rules of engagement or its concept of operations, as per the request of my Government. I am sure that members realize how important today’s decision is for all Lebanese, who have been the victims of repeated Israeli aggression since the 1978 invasion, which led to Security Council 425 (1978) and the creation of the first UNIFIL. Allow me also to take this opportunity to praise UNIFIL for its remarkable work in close coordination and cooperation with the Lebanese army, to commend the wise leadership of General Graziano, the Force Commander, and to thank all troop-contributing countries as well as the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. Three years after the adoption of resolution 1701 (2006), however, we need to acknowledge the fact that the resolution has still not been fully implemented. That is not only because Israel continues to breach the Blue Line and to violate Lebanese airspace on a daily basis, as stated by the Secretary-General in his latest report on the implementation of resolution 1701 (2006) (S/2009/330); it is also because Israel continues to refuse to withdraw from the northern part of al-Ghajar, and because a solution has not yet been found to the issue of the Sheba’a farms and the Kafr Shuba hills, even on an interim basis, as earlier proposed by the Lebanese Government. And how can I not mention in this context the operations of Israeli spy networks, about which the Council was briefed by Mr. Michael Williams on 8 July: do they not constitute a serious violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and consequently contribute to undermining Security Council resolution 1701 (2006)? Given all those indisputable facts, I am sure that Council members have no doubt about the identity of the party which must be held responsible for obstructing the full implementation of resolution 1701 (2006). More disturbing, however, is the fact that Israeli officials have recently been launching a series of alarming threats against Lebanon, which raise serious concerns about Israeli intentions. It is enough to mention here the words of Israel’s Defence Minister, Ehud Barak, who said on 7 August 2009 that “Israel did not strike at Lebanon’s infrastructure hard enough during the summer war of 2006” — I stress “Lebanon’s infrastructure” and “did not strike ... hard enough” — and who emphasized that a future attack would have even more destructive effects on Lebanese infrastructure than the July 2006 war. Do I need to remind members of the Council that, during its 2006 war on Lebanon — over and above the thousands of civilian casualties and the hundreds of thousands of displaced persons — as far as infrastructure is concerned, Israel destroyed 91 bridges and damaged 137 roads, five airport runways, 58 telephone exchanges and dozens of transmission centres, and 1,514 water network points and dozens of reservoirs and pumps — in addition to 929 schools, which were totally or partially destroyed or damaged? That is not to mention the bombing of the fuel oil tanks at our geothermal station, which led to the release of more than 15,000 tons of fuel oil into the Mediterranean Sea, causing the physical and chemical contamination of the Lebanese coastline, with serious implications for human health, biodiversity, fisheries and the economy of Lebanon. What Mr. Barak is promising us is only more acts of that kind: acts which not only are in violation of the letter and the spirit of resolution 1701 (2006) but run counter to the fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations, let alone the rules and principles of international humanitarian law. The credibility of the Security Council requires that such threats against my country also be condemned in the strongest words.

There are no further speakers on my list. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Security Council will remain seized of the matter.