Lebanon: Adoption of a Presidential Statement
This afternoon (16 January), the Security Council is set to adopt a draft presidential statement on Lebanon, which was authored by France (the penholder on the file). The agreed text welcomes the recent election of President of the Republic of Lebanon Joseph Aoun and the designation of Nawaf Salam as prime minister. It also welcomes the 26 November 2024 cessation of hostilities arrangement between Israel and Lebanon (S/2024/870) and calls on the parties to faithfully implement its provisions. (The arrangement was brokered by the US and France after over 13 months of hostilities primarily involving Israel and Hezbollah. For background, see our 11 January What’s in Blue story, the brief on Lebanon in our November 2024 Monthly Forecast, and the brief on “The Middle East, including the Palestinian Question” in our January 2025 Monthly Forecast.)
The draft presidential statement reaffirms the Council’s support for the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and political independence of Lebanon, “in accordance with the principles and parameters set out in resolution 1701”. (Adopted in 2006, resolution 1701 called for a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.)
France circulated the first draft of the presidential statement on 9 January, inviting comments until the following day, a deadline later extended until 13 January. It then circulated a first revised draft of the text, inviting comments until 14 January. On the same day, France put a second revised draft of the presidential statement under silence procedure until yesterday afternoon (15 January). After the draft text passed silence, Algeria, the Council’s president for the month of January, scheduled the adoption for this afternoon.
This initiative follows an attempt by France in December 2024 to garner consensus on a draft presidential statement focused on the cessation of hostilities arrangement. That attempt came to a halt when, after a period of negotiations, the US apparently requested an extended pause in the negotiations, citing concerns that the draft presidential statement could risk complicating de-escalation and compliance with the cessation of hostilities arrangement on the ground. It seems that the US’ concern was not shared by other Council members, which had apparently supported the proposed draft presidential statement.
It seems that negotiations on the presidential statement that is expected to be adopted this afternoon were comparatively smoother and less contentious. This might be because this draft text does not concentrate on issues related to the cessation of hostilities that could have become controversial and primarily focuses on recent domestic developments which Council members view as positive for the situation in Lebanon.
The 9 January election of Aoun by the Lebanese parliament to the role of President of the Republic ended a vacuum of over two years during which opposing politico-sectarian blocs in Lebanon were unable to agree on a candidate. This development was followed on 13 January by Salam’s designation as prime minister tasked by Aoun with forming a new government. Should Salam’s attempt be successful, it would end a period of more than two years in which Lebanon’s government has operated in caretaker capacity.
In this context, the draft presidential statement encourages the new Lebanese authorities to “build on their efforts thus far by continuing to work constructively to promote the country’s stability, and by swiftly forming a government”. It also encourages “renewed unity” from all parties in Lebanon towards that end and in order to “ensure Lebanon’s ability to address the various challenges facing the country”. It seems that, during the negotiations, minor adjustments were made to some of these references, likely in response to requests by Russia to use less prescriptive language on issues related to Lebanese domestic matters.
Regarding the cessation of hostilities, it appears that, following a request from Algeria and Russia, a reference was included in the draft presidential statement expressing the Council’s concern about “the reported violations” of the cessation of hostilities and calling for all violations of the arrangement to stop. The agreed text calls on all parties to respect the safety of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and other UN personnel and premises to ensure that the freedom of movement of UNIFIL is “fully respected and unimpeded”. It also recalls that UN peacekeepers and premises “must never be the target of an attack”.
It seems that Algeria proposed language emphasising the importance for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) to respect the 60-day deadline outlined in the cessation of hostilities arrangement to respectively withdraw from, and deploy to, areas in southern Lebanon. It also suggested text requesting UNIFIL to report on its activities within the revised mechanism. This refers to the mechanism tasked in the cessation of hostilities arrangement with monitoring, verifying, and assisting in “ensuring enforcement” of the commitments outlined in the arrangement. It is a reformulated version of the tripartite mechanism established following the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, which consisted of representatives of UNIFIL, the IDF, and the LAF, and was chaired by the UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander. Under the terms of the cessation of hostilities, the revised mechanism also includes France and the US—which chairs the mechanism—and is hosted by UNIFIL. Neither of these requests appear in the draft presidential statement that is set to be adopted today.
The agreed draft text calls on the international community to extend humanitarian and economic assistance, including financial support, to the Lebanese people. It also calls for further international assistance in the future to help facilitate Lebanon’s reconstruction and development; to strengthen state institutions, including the LAF; and to “help secure a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution to the conflict”.