Suleiman receives UNIFIL strategic revision report

President Michel Suleiman received on Thursday United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon’s “strategic revision” of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, reported the daily An Nahar on Friday. It said that the six-page report is aimed at guaranteeing that the international force will be able to complete its peacekeeping mission in Lebanon. The report said that the situation in the areas under UNIFIL’s control is stable, adding however that no real breakthrough has been achieved in establishing a permanent ceasefire and long-term solution between Lebanon and Israel. It added however that UN Security Council resolution 1701 is obligated to ensure such outcomes, not UNIFIL. The report noted however that progress in the demarcation of the Blue Line has helped reduce inadvertent violations between Lebanon and Israel. Ban explained that the revision was not strictly aimed at listing UNIFIL’s accomplishments and current challenges it is facing, but also at empowering it to bolster the implementation of resolution 1701. The revision was made at the request of the UN Security Council in 2011 and was conducted by an independent team of experts headed by retired Assistant UN Secretary General Julian Harston between October and November 2011. The team carried out a number of consultations between December 8 and 18, 2011 with the Lebanese and Israeli armies, members of the Security Council, UNIFIL, and ambassadors of the countries participating in the international force. The results of the revision have been delivered to the governments of Lebanon and Israel, added An Nahar. UNIFIL Commander Major General Paolo Serra told As Safir newspaper in February that the study focused on ways to improve stability and make better contacts with southerners. After completing the review, the Security Council will decide what changes to make to the force which has taken on renewed importance since UNIFIL was boosted after the 2006 war between Israel and Hizbullah. It now has about 13,500 troops and civilian staff. Following the strategic review, France announced on Tuesday that it will reduce the strength of its UN peacekeeping contingent in southern Lebanon by 400, just under a third of its troops there. A statement from the Foreign Ministry said the decision had been taken in agreement with the UN and Lebanon. Spokesman Bernard Valero told reporters the French force would be reduced to around 1,000 troops. UNIFIL as a whole has around 12,000 soldiers from 35 countries and is led by a large Italian contingent. The force was created in 1978 to help Lebanon restore government control over southern Lebanon after the Israeli invasion, and it was beefed up in 2006 after the latest fighting between Hizbullah and Israel.