United Nations Security Council Resolution 2485 –The situation in the Middle East

Resolution 2485 (2019)

The Security Council,

Recalling all its previous resolutions on Lebanon, in particular resolutions 425 (1978), 426 (1978), 1559 (2004), 1680 (2006), 1701 (2006), 1773 (2007), 1832 (2008), 1884 (2009), 1937 (2010) and 2004 (2011), 2064 (2012), 2115 (2013), 2172 (2014) and 2236 (2015), 2305 (2016), 2373 (2017) and 2433 (2018) as well as the statements of its President on the situation in Lebanon and the Press statements dated 19 December 2016, 27 March 2018, 9 August 2018, 8 February 2019,

Welcoming the progress towards reactivation of the Lebanese state institutions, the holding of legislative elections on 6 May 2018, the first Parliamentary elections since 2009, the formation of a new Lebanese Government on 30 January 2019 and the adoption of a budget for 2019 on 19 July, while stressing the need for all political actors to work towards the effective functioning of the Government and all state institutions,

Responding to the request of the Government of Lebanon to extend the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for a period of one year without amendment presented in a letter from the Lebanese Foreign Minister to the Secretary-General of 7 July 2019 and welcoming the letter from the Secretary-General to its President of 1 August 2019 (S/2019/619) recommending this extension,

Reiterating its strong support for the territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence of Lebanon,

Reaffirming its commitment to the full implementation of all provisions of resolution 1701 (2006), and aware of its responsibilities to help secure a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution as envisioned in the resolution,

Expressing concern at the continued lack of progress made towards the establishment of a permanent ceasefire and other key provisions of resolution 1701 (2006) more than ten years after its adoption,

Calling upon all concerned parties to strengthen their efforts, including by exploring concrete solutions with the Special Coordinator of the Secretary-General and the UNIFIL Force Commander, to fully implement all provisions of resolution 1701 (2006) without delay,

Expressing deep concern at all violations in connection with resolution 1701 (2006) as underlined by the Secretary-General in his reports, and recalling the importance of control of the Government of Lebanon over all Lebanese territory,

Underlining the risk that violations of the cessation of hostilities could lead to a new conflict that none of the parties or the region can afford,

Urging all parties to make every effort to ensure that the cessation of hostilities is sustained, exercise maximum calm and restraint and refrain from any action or rhetoric that could jeopardize the cessation of hostilities or destabilize the region,

Emphasizing to all parties the importance of full compliance with the prohibition on sales and supply of arms and related materiel established by resolution 1701 (2006),

Recalling the utmost importance that all parties concerned respect the Blue Line in its entirety, noting with concern that UNIFIL still has not been able to access all relevant locations north of the Blue Line related to the discovery of tunnels crossing the Blue Line which UNIFIL reported as a violation of resolution 1701 (2006), and calling on the Lebanese authorities to swiftly conclude all necessary investigations on the matter, welcoming the continued progress in the marking of the Blue Line, and encouraging the parties to accelerate their efforts in coordination with UNIFIL, including through the tripartite mechanism, to continue working in the ongoing process to delineate and visibly mark the Blue Line in its entirety, as well as to move forward on the marking of its points of contention, as recommended by the Strategic Review,

Condemning in the strongest terms all attempts to threaten the security and stability of Lebanon,

Reaffirming its determination to ensure that no such acts of intimidation prevent UNIFIL from implementing its mandate in accordance with Security Council resolution 1701 (2006), recalling the necessity for all parties to ensure that UNIFIL personnel are secure and their freedom of movement is fully respected and unimpeded and continuing to respect the separate, supporting mandate under which Observer Group Lebanon operates, condemning in the strongest terms the attack against UNIFIL forces on 4 August 2018 near the town of Majdal Zun, Southern Lebanon, and recalling the importance of the Lebanese authorities swiftly providing UNIFIL with further updates on this matter,

Reiterating the importance of the extension of the control of the Government of Lebanon over all Lebanese territory in accordance with the provisions of resolution 1559 (2004) and resolution 1680 (2006), and of the relevant provisions of the Taif Accords,

Encouraging all Lebanese parties to resume discussions towards a consensus on a National Defence Strategy as set out by the President of Lebanon and the Lebanese Defense Minister on 29 April 2019, in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions and the Taif Agreement,

Welcoming the drafting of Lebanon’s first National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, and encouraging the Government of Lebanon to adopt and implement it, with the support of UNIFIL and women’s civil society groups, as soon as possible and to ensure the full, effective, and meaningful participation of women at all levels of decision-making in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security,

Recalling the relevant principles contained in the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel,

Commending the active role and dedication of the personnel of UNIFIL and expressing its strong appreciation to Member States that contribute to UNIFIL and underlining the necessity that UNIFIL has at its disposal all necessary means and equipment to carry out its mandate,

Recalling the request from the Government of Lebanon to deploy an international force to assist it to exercise its authority throughout the territory, and reaffirming UNIFIL’s authority to take all necessary action in areas of operations of its forces and as it deems within its capabilities, to ensure that its area of operations is not utilized for hostile activities of any kind and to resist attempts by forceful means to prevent it from discharging its mandate,

Welcoming the crucial role played by the Lebanese Armed Forces and security forces, as the only legitimate armed forces in Lebanon, in extending and sustaining the authority of the Government of Lebanon, in particular in southern Lebanon, and responding to other security challenges, including the threat of terrorism, and the strong international commitment to support the Lebanese Armed Forces, which has helped strengthen the capability of the Lebanese Armed Forces to provide security for Lebanon, and further noting the relevance of this increased capacity in relation to their efforts to coordinate with UNIFIL in the implementation of the UNIFIL mandate,

Recalling resolution 2378 (2017) and its request of the Secretary-General to ensure that data related to the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations, including peacekeeping performance data, is used to improve analytics and the evaluation of mission operations, based on clear and well identified benchmarks, further recalling resolution 2436 (2018) and its request of the Secretary-General to ensure that decisions to recognize and incentivize outstanding performance and decisions regarding deployment, remediation, training, withholding of financial reimbursement,and repatriation of uniformed or dismissal of civilian personnel, are predicated on objective performance data, and emphasizing the need to regularly evaluate UNIFIL’s performance such that the mission retains the skills and flexibility needed to effectively carry out its mandate,

Also recalling resolution 2242 (2015) and its request of the Secretary-General to initiate, in collaboration with Member States, a revised strategy, within existing resources, to double the number of women in military and police contingents of UN peacekeeping operations,

Recognizing the need to regularly review all peacekeeping operations to ensure efficiency and effectiveness, including reviews of UNIFIL when appropriate, taking into account developments on the ground,

Bearing in mind the strategic priorities and recommendations identified by the Secretary-General in his letter of 12 March 2012 (S/2012/151) as a result of the Strategic Review of UNIFIL, taking note of his letter of 8 March 2017 (S/2017/202) as a result of the most recent Strategic Review of UNIFIL, and expressing the need for a follow-up and update,

Calling upon Member States to assist the Lebanese Armed Forces as needed to enable it to perform its duties in line with resolution 1701 (2006),

Determining that the situation in Lebanon continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security,

Adopted by the Security Council at its 8610th meeting, on 2 August 2019.