UN Security Council resolution 1701

The Resolution 1701 of the UN Security Council is a UN resolution that during the 2006 Lebanon war was adopted, aiming at a solution of the discharged military means conflict. It was unanimously adopted by the United Nations Security Council at its 5,511th session on August 11, 2006.

background

The resolution is based on a draft originally prepared by France and the United States , which called for a "complete cessation of hostilities" between Israel and Hezbollah . The governments of Lebanon and the Arab League sharply criticized it for not urging Israel to withdraw from southern Lebanon immediately , but rather allowing the state to continue to use military means against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

In response to the present draft, the Lebanese government secured the support of the Arab League so that parts of the Siniora plan , which was presented at the conference in Rome on July 27, 2006 , could be taken into account. A delegation from the League flew to New York on August 8, 2006 and met with various representatives of the United Nations, including representatives from France and the United States. This resulted in a change in the French position and thus forced a change in the proposal.

The main difference compared to the original draft is that the 15,000 committed soldiers of the Lebanese army are assigned a central role and the UN force UNIFIL is to be increased from the current 2,000 to a possible 15,000 soldiers. The aim is to achieve full implementation of the Taif Agreement and UN Resolutions 1559 and 1680 (adopted May 17, 2006), which admonish the Lebanese government to accelerate the disarmament of Hezbollah and urge Syria to assist . It should also define the common border between Israel, Lebanon and Syria in the area of the Shebaa farms . The resolution also makes it clear that the decision on whether to use UNIFIL aid rests with the government of Lebanon and also states that Israeli forces will withdraw in parallel with the deployment of Lebanese and UNIFIL forces and not paramilitary forces Troops - including Hezbollah - have to remain south of the Litani (paragraph OP8).

Heads of government from all over the world welcomed the resolution, but at the same time stressed that the end of the crisis had not yet been reached.

Summary of resolution 1701

The Security Council

calls for the complete cessation of hostilities
calls for the withdrawal of all Israeli troops from southern Lebanon
calls for full respect for the Blue Line by both parties
calls for sole authority of the regular Lebanese army and UNIFIL troops in Lebanon
calls for no armed groups to exist in Lebanon except the Lebanese army and therefore for all other groups to be disarmed
Also reiterates its strong support, as expressed in all of its previous relevant resolutions, for the territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence of Lebanon within its internationally recognized borders, as provided for in the Israeli-Lebanese General Armistice Agreement of 23 March 1949
Calls for security measures to prevent resumption of hostilities, including the creation of an area between the Blue Line and the Litani River that is free of armed personnel, material and weapons, unless the Lebanese government and UNIFIL have introduced them into it Area dislocated
Calls on the international community to take immediate steps to provide financial and humanitarian assistance to the Lebanese people, as well as the return of refugees, the reopening of airports and seaports and the reconstruction of the country
calls for implementation of UN resolutions 1559 and 1680
calls for no sales or deliveries of armaments and other military material to Lebanon to be permitted unless these are approved by its government
calls on Israel to hand over all remaining maps of landmines in Lebanon to the UN

Implementation of the resolution

Following resolution of Resolution 1701, there were repeated violations of Lebanese airspace by Israeli fighter planes. The French Defense Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie warned in October 2006 that the continued violations of Lebanese airspace by Israeli aircraft were extremely dangerous and that the UN troops led by France could see this as a hostile act and shoot in self-defense. General Alain Pellegrini , commander of UNFIL troops in Lebanon, had previously proposed at a press conference that the mandate of UNFIL troops be changed so that future airspace violations could be averted by military means. French President Jacques Chirac also expressed criticism , who called on Israel to stop the intrusion into Lebanese airspace, as this would contradict the spirit of UN Resolution 1701 (opposes the spirit of UN Resolution 1701) .

The Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz justified the overflights with the still incomplete implementation of the resolution. The captured IAF soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were not extradited, and arms deliveries to Hezbollah were not completely prevented. Hezbollah armed personnel are also said to be still in the neutral zone south of the Litani River.

UN spokesman Dujarric said UN forces would not be allowed to fire at Israeli planes if Lebanon's airspace was violated. The UN forces are only allowed to defend themselves in the event of an attack from the air.

The restriction of the UNIFIL troops' scope of action by the Lebanese government - in particular the naval forces led by the German armed forces - has also met with criticism from within the German government. It is believed that the restrictions do not allow any weapons smuggling to be combated effectively. In general, the implementation of the resolution has been criticized for the failure to disarm non-regular troops such as Hezbollah - including from Russian Defense Minister Ivanov . The former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan also drew attention to the importance of implementing disarmament on several occasions.

In July 2019, the Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon presented the United Nations Security Council with new information on cooperation between Iran, Syria and Hezbollah on arms smuggling. The dual-use goods are being smuggled into Lebanon via the port of Beirut to further develop Hezbollah's missile technology, in violation of Resolution 1701.

On November 26, 2019, the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres published a new report calling on the Lebanese government to disarm the Iranian-backed terrorist organization Hezbollah. The presence of Hezbollah and other armed groups is a violation of UN Security Resolution 1701 because it stipulates that there are no armed forces in the south of the country except for the Lebanese army.