Reporting period from 25 June to 4 November 2016
I. Introduction
1. The present report provides a comprehensive assessment of the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) since my previous report of 24 June 2016 (S/2016/572).
2. The situation in the area of operations of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) remained generally calm, including in the context of the tenth anniversary of the July-August 2006 conflict and related rhetoric on both sides. Tensions rose among communities in the Shab‘a area during construction works conducted by the Israel Defense Forces south of the Blue Line in the Shab‘a Farms. Israeli and Lebanese authorities maintained their commitment to resolution 1701 (2006), the cessation of hostilities and stability along the Blue Line. My Special Coordinator for Lebanon and UNIFIL continued to engage accordingly. There was no progress, however, on the parties’ outstanding obligations under the resolution and towards a permanent ceasefire.
3. The resilience of Lebanon is increasingly contingent upon and at risk from the Syrian conflict. The security situation remained relatively calm thanks in large part to the continuing robust performance of the Lebanese Armed Forces along the Syrian border and with other security services in counter-terrorism operations throughout the country. Nonetheless, the threat of terrorist attacks persisted, as illustrated in the two suicide bombings in Al-Qa‘ah on 27 June and the bombing in Zahlah on 31 August. The situation in the border areas remained fragile, with the Lebanese Armed Forces engaged in ongoing operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Nusrah Front militants.
4. During the reporting period, there was a breakthrough in the resolution of the two-and-a-half-year vacancy of the presidency of Lebanon, as a result of which the Government of Prime Minister Tammam Salam became a caretaker government. Agreement on a new government and its ministerial statement remains pending, however, while preparations for the 2017 parliamentary elections are ongoing. In my meeting with Prime Minister Salam on 20 September, in the margin of the General Assembly, I expressed my hope for the election of a president of the Republic and for a functioning government and parliament for Lebanon. We discussed the ongoing impact of the Syrian conflict on Lebanon and welcomed the united international support for the country’s security and stability, including through assistance to the Lebanese Armed Forces. I also thanked Lebanon for its generous hospitality to refugees from the Syrian Arab Republic and stressed the need for the international community to do more to share the responsibility of assisting their presence in Lebanon.
5. The number of Syrian refugees registered with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Lebanon remained stable, owing to the policy put in place by the Government in 2014 and 2015 to restrict access to exceptional humanitarian cases only. As at 31 October, 1,033,513 Syrian refugees were registered with UNHCR, including 47,138 in the UNIFIL area of operations. At the high-level plenary meeting on addressing large movements of refugees and migrants, held on 20 September, Prime Minister Salam highlighted the severe problems posed by the refugee crisis to the country’s stability, security, economy and public services, emphasizing that Lebanon could not cope with such an “existential challenge” alone.
6. The situation in the Palestinian refugee camps remained generally calm, except in Ein El Helweh camp, where tensions flared following the surrender to the Lebanese Armed Forces of dozens of Palestinian individuals suspected of involvement in militant activities since 24 July. On 22 September, on an exceptional basis, the Lebanese Armed Forces conducted an operation inside Ein El Helweh camp to arrest a Palestinian national, suspected of being a prominent member of ISIL, who was planning terrorist attacks in Lebanon. My Special Coordinator visited that camp to support efforts to keep stability there.