UN Calls for Progress in Disbanding Lebanese Militias
Less than two weeks after a United Nations report condemned Lebanon’s lack of progress in addressing human trafficking, the UN Security Council has declared that the nation has also failed to make any “tangible progress” in disarming militias. Mr. Terje Roed-Larsen, Special Envoy to the Secretary General, warned that “The violence that erupted in Lebanon and spread widely across the country in May of this year served as a shocking illustration of how armed groups outside the control of the Government of Lebanon brought the country to a near state of collapse, and engraved psychological scars on the civilian population.” The issue is of particular concern to the UN in the context of 2004′s Resolution 1559, which calls for free and fair elections in Lebanon without interference from foreign groups (which seems a pointed reference particularly to Syria’s historical interference in the nation) as well as the disbanding of all militia groups. The immediate concern is that the continued existence, and even re-armament, of militias will threaten the stability and legitimacy of the government, especially in the midst of its fragile unity talks and tense security situation. The UN directed particular attention to the growing strength of Hezbollah, noting that the group’s “resort to armed action in response to [political decisions] by the Government, are a direct challenge to the fundamental authority of that Government and its attempts to consolidate its sovereignty.” The organization urged Lebanon to build upon the progress it achieved with the free elections that brought President Suleiman to power by focusing on disarming and disbanding militias through the political process. Hezbollah was also urged to lay down its weapons and transform into a purely political, nonviolent party.
Stefanie Demetriades
