Text: UN Security Council President Statement - Syria hasn't left Lebanon


www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/sc8220.doc.htm


Tex19/10/2004
Press Release
SC/8220

Security Council
5058th Meeting (AM)

Reaffirming strong support for Lebanon's Sovereignty AND Independence,
Security
Council 'notes with concern' THAT requirements of resolution 1559 remain
unmet

In Presidential Statement, Council Urges
Full Implementation, Welcomes Secretary-General's Assistance

Reaffirming its strong support for the territorial integrity, sovereignty
and political independence of Lebanon, the Security Council noted with
concern that the requirements set out in resolution 1559 (2004), by which
the Council had declared its support for a free and fair presidential
election in Lebanon and called on all remaining foreign forces there to
withdraw, had not been met.

Through the adoption of presidential statement (document S/PRST/2004/36)
read out by the Council's President for the month, Adam Thomson (United
Kingdom), the Council urged relevant parties to fully implement all
provisions of the text, and welcomed the Secretary-General's readiness to
assist the parties in that regard.

Today's action follows receipt of the Secretary-General's report (document
S/2004/777), dated 1 October, in which he states that the requirements set
out in resolution 1559, adopted on 2 September, had not been met.  The
report also states that it is time, 14 years after the end of hostilities
and four years after the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, for all parties
concerned to set aside the remaining vestige of the past.  The
Secretary-General adds that the withdrawal of foreign forces and the
disbandment and disarmament of militias would, with finality, end that sad
chapter of Lebanese history.

In addition to the Secretary-General's report, the Council also had before
it a letter dated 5 October from the Permanent Representative of
Lebanon to
the Secretary-General (document S/2004/794).  In it, Lebanon
reiterates that
the question of the departure of the Syrian army from Lebanon is
governed by
bilateral relations and agreements between Lebanon and Syria, and
depends on
peace and defence requirements and the mutual security interests of
the two
countries in the absence of a just and comprehensive peace in the region,
and in light of the implications of Israel's continued occupation and
spoiling of opportunities for peaceful political solutions.

The letter states further that one could not lose sight of the
importance of
that alliance for confronting and tackling the "extremist currents
that are
fed and encouraged by Israel's behaviour aimed at blowing up the region",
not to mention the requirements of internal security, stability and
the war
on terrorism, which are governed by considerations and circumstances
specific to the two countries.  Lebanon's relations with Syria would not
disappear with the departure of the Syrian army from Lebanon, since they
existed prior to its arrival and throughout its current deployment and
would
continue after it left.  The question has again and again been one of
appropriate timing and method and of Lebanon's sovereign right in all
these
matters and above all else.

Similarly, a letter from Syria's Permanent Representative to the Council
President (document S/2004/796), dated 7 October, reiterating the position
he had communicated in a letter to the Secretary-General and the Security
Council on 2 September, says that the discussion of Syrian-Lebanese
bilateral relations in the Council constituted a precedent that would make
the Council a tool for "illegal interference" in the internal affairs of
independent States Members of the United Nations.  This is in conflict
with
Article 2, paragraph 7, of the United Nations Charter, which explicitly
prohibits intervention of the United Nations "in matters which are
essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any State".

The discussion in the Council was also a violation of the functions of the
Council defined in the Charter, particularly in view of the fact that the
privileged fraternal ties existing between Syria and Lebanon posed no
threat
to international security and peace, and there existed no complaint by
either of those States against the other, he states, adding his hope that
the Council would shoulder its responsibilities and prevail upon Israel to
comply with the more than 40 resolutions adopted by the Council that call
upon Israel to withdraw from the territories occupied in 1967 as a
basis for
the establishment of a just and comprehensive peace in the region.

The meeting was called to order at 10:17 a.m. and adjourned at 10:22 a.m.

Presidential Statement

Following is the text of today's presidential statement (document
S/PRST/36):

"The Security Council welcomes the report of the Secretary-General of 3
October 2004 (S/2004/777) on the implementation of resolution 1559
(2004) of
2 September 2004.

"The Security Council takes note of the letter from the Permanent
Representative of Lebanon dated 5 October (S/2004/794) and of the note
verbale from the Permanent Mission of the SyrianArabRepublic dated 6
October
2004 (S/2004/796).

"The Security Council reaffirms its strong support for the territorial
integrity, sovereignty and political independence of Lebanon within its
internationally recognized borders.

"The Council notes with concern that the requirements set out in
resolution
1559 (2004) have not been met, as reported by the Secretary-General.  The
Council urges relevant parties to implement fully all provisions of this
resolution, and welcomes the Secretary-General's readiness to assist the
parties in this regard.

"The Security Council appreciates the Secretary-General's intention to
keep
the Council updated.  It requests that he continue to report on the
implementation of the resolution to the Council every six months."

Background

Before the Council is a report of the Secretary-General (document
S/2004/777) on the implementation of resolution 1559 (2004) of 2
September,
by which the Council had declared its support for a free and fair
presidential election in Lebanon and, in that connection, had called
on all
remaining foreign forces there to withdraw. In the present report,
which is
submitted in response to a request made in that resolution that the
Secretary-General report within 30 days on implementation by the
parties, he
notes that the requirements on the various parties set out in that
resolution have not been met.  He is ready to assist the parties, as
needed,
in implementation and, if required, to keep the Council regularly updated
with any information in this regard.

According to the report, apart from the United Nations Interim Force in
Lebanon (UNIFIL), and to the best of his ability to ascertain, the "only
significant foreign forces deployed in Lebanon, as of 30 September
2004, are
Syrian".  Syria has maintained forces in Lebanon since 1976, which at one
point numbered 40,000 according to the Lebanese Government.  Both
Governments have told the Secretary-General that the Syrian forces present
in Lebanon are there at Lebanon's invitation and that their presence is by
mutual agreement. Specifically, they are said to be deployed pursuant
to the
Taif Agreement of 1989 and the Syria-Lebanon Treaty of Cooperation
ratified
by both countries in 1991.  As far as the Secretary-General knows, the two
Governments have not concluded the further agreement "to determine the
strength and duration of the presence of Syrian forces" that is
provided for
in both of those instruments.

In addition to the uniformed Syrian armed forces in Lebanon, the
report says
that the Syrian Government has informed the United Nations that there is
also a substantial presence of non-uniformed military intelligence
officials
which, it says, are usual components of military units.  The Syrian
military
and intelligence apparatus in Lebanon had not been withdrawn as of 30
September, but, according to announcements by the two Governments, Syria
has, in recent weeks, redeployed approximately 3,000 of its forces
formerly
deployed south of Beirut.  It has not been made clear to the United
Nations
whether these redeployments are confined to regular troops or include
non-uniformed military intelligence, and whether they have all returned to
Syria.  According to the parties, this is the fifth such redeployment
since
the signing of the Taif Agreement.

The Secretary-General states further in the report that the Syrian
Government has indicated to him that about 14,000 Syrian troops remain in
Lebanon, and are now based near the Syrian border and are not deployed
deep
inside Lebanon.  Both Governments have told him that the timing of further
withdrawals would be determined by the security situation in Lebanon
and the
region and through the joint military committee established pursuant
to the
Taif Agreement.  The Lebanese Government has told him that the current
fragile security situation in the region, and its concern regarding
potential risks to Lebanon's domestic stability, render it difficult to
establish a timetable for the full withdrawal of Syrian forces.

Also according to the report, the Lebanese Government has also told the
Secretary-General that its ultimate goal is the complete withdrawal of all
foreign forces from its territory.  In addition, the two Governments have
told the Secretary-General that they are actively discussing the
nature and
extent of the current deployment of Syrian forces in Lebanon.  In this
context, the Syrian Government has informed him that it cannot provide him
with numbers and timetables for any future withdrawal.  Since the end
of the
civil war, the Lebanese Government has made great strides in significantly
reducing the number of militias present in the country, but, as of 30
September, several armed elements remain in the south.  The Government
says
that it intends that all irregular armed groups ultimately be disbanded.

The report finds that the most significant remaining armed group in
Lebanon
is Hezbollah, which the Government refers to, not as a Lebanese
militia, but
as a "national resistance group", with the goal of defending Lebanon from
Israel and the removal of Israeli forces from Lebanese soil, namely, the
Shab'a farms.  Lebanon maintains that the Shab'a farms are Lebanese
territory, not Syrian.  In the Secretary-General's report of 16 June 2000,
however, he confirmed that Israel has fulfilled the requirements of
Security
Council resolutions 425 and 426 to "withdraw its forces from all Lebanese
territory".  The Council endorsed that conclusion on 18 June 2000 in a
presidential statement.  Notwithstanding the Lebanese Government's
position
that the Shab'a farms area lies within Lebanon, the Government has
confirmed
that it would respect the Blue Line as identified by the United Nations.
The Council has called on Lebanon to respect fully its line.

The Secretary-General concludes that he "cannot certify that these
requirements (contained in resolution 1559) have been met".  While the
objections of the Lebanese and Syrian Governments to the resolution
are well
known, they have assured the Secretary-General of their respect for the
Council, and that consequently they will not contest it.  The parties have
provided him with information and given him certain assurances as set
forth
above.  The Secretary-General notes these and waits their fulfilment.  He
has requested from the parties a timetable for their full implementation.

Regarding the electoral process, he says it has long been his strong
belief -- reiterated most recently at the African Union summit in July --
that governments and leaders should not hold on to office beyond
prescribed
term limits.  Lebanese public opinion appears to be divided over such
issues
as the Syrian military presence, the constitutional situation as it
related
to presidential elections and the continued existence of armed groups not
under the direct control of the Government.  But, many are of the view
that
full implementation of resolution 1559 would be in the interest, not
just of
Lebanon, but of Syria, too, and of the region and the wider international
community.











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