A/RES/61/194 GA

United Nations A/RES/61/194 General Assembly Distr.: General 6 February 2007 Sixty-first session Agenda item 53 (a) 06-51849 Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 20 December 2006 [on the report of the Second Committee (A/61/422/Add.1 and Corr.1)] 61/194. Oil slick on Lebanese shores The General Assembly, Reaffirming the outcome of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, especially principle 7 of the Declaration of the Conference, 1 which requested States to take all possible steps to prevent pollution of the seas, Emphasizing the need to protect and preserve the marine environment in accordance with international law, Taking into account the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development,2 especially principle 16, which stipulates that the polluter should, in principle, bear the cost of pollution, and taking into account also chapter 17 of Agenda 21,3 Noting with great concern the environmental disaster caused by the destruction by the Israeli Air Force on 15 July 2006 of the oil storage tanks in the direct vicinity of the El-Jiyeh electric power plant in Lebanon, causing an oil slick that covered the entirety of the Lebanese coastline and extended beyond, Noting with appreciation the assistance offered by donor countries and international organizations for the early recovery and reconstruction of Lebanon through bilateral and multilateral channels, including the Stockholm Conference for Lebanon’s Early Recovery, held on 31 August 2006, 1. Expresses its deep concern over the adverse implications of the destruction by the Israeli Air Force of the oil storage tanks in the direct vicinity of the Lebanese El-Jiyeh electric power plant for the achievement of sustainable development in Lebanon; 2. Considers that the oil slick has heavily polluted the shores of Lebanon and consequently has serious implications for human health, biodiversity, fisheries _______________ 1 See Report of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm, 5-16 June 1972 (A/CONF.48/14/Rev.1), part one, chap, I. 2 Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992, vol. I, Resolutions Adopted by the Conference (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.93.I.8 and corrigendum), resolution 1, annex I. 3 Ibid., annex II. A/RES/61/194 2 and tourism, all four of which in turn have serious implications for livelihoods and the economy of Lebanon; 3. Calls upon the Government of Israel to assume responsibility for prompt and adequate compensation to the Government of Lebanon for the costs of repairing the environmental damage caused by the destruction, including the restoration of the marine environment; 4. Encourages Member States, regional and international organizations, regional and international financial institutions, and non-governmental organizations and the private sector to provide financial and technical assistance to the Government of Lebanon in support of its efforts to clean up the polluted shores and sea of Lebanon with a view to preserving its ecosystem; 5. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its sixty-second session a report on the implementation of the present resolution under the item entitled “Sustainable development”. 83rd plenary meeting 20 December 2006

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