The United Nations Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution extending the mandate of the peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon known as UNIFIL until Aug. 31, 2019.
France, which had drafted the resolution, has held tough negotiations with the United States after it had proposed major amendments to the French-drafted text on the extension of UNIFIL’s mandate.
Informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley lobbied hard for a change in the text of the mandate, including calls on the Lebanese government to boost its naval capabilities, with the ultimate aim of drawing down the mission's maritime taskforce.
But on calls for the “condemnation of Hezbollah’s ownership of new military capabilities, including missiles,” France succeeded in convincing the US that “it was unnecessary” to insist on the denunciation.
The French-drafted resolution again urged all countries to enforce a 2006 arms embargo and prevent the sale or supply of weapons to any individual or entity in Lebanon not authorized by the government or UNIFIL, an implicit criticism of the suppliers of weapons to “Hezbollah.”
This part of the text was seen as a major victory for the US because it means that the UN Secretary General has to write a special report on the implementation of the embargo along with the reports that he issues every three months on Security Council Resolution 1701 that ended the war between Israel and “Hezbollah” in 2006, a source said.
"All states shall take the necessary measures to prevent, by their nationals or from their territories or using flag vessels or aircraft, the sale or supply of arms and related materiel to any entity or individual in Lebanon other than those authorized by the Government of Lebanon or UNIFIL," the resolution states.
The Council also called for the Lebanese government "to develop a plan to increase its naval capabilities ... with the goal of ultimately decreasing UNIFIL's Maritime Task Force and transitioning its responsibilities to the Lebanese Armed Forces."
