Security Council resolution 2305 (2016) [on extension of the mandate of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) until 31 Aug. 2017]
Symbol: S/RES/2305 (2016)
Date: 2016-08-30
Status: adopted
Agenda: S/71 [57] UN INTERIM FORCE IN LEBANON
S/71 [54] MIDDLE EAST SITUATION
S/71 [52] ISRAEL--LEBANON
S/ X The situation in the Middle East.
Subjects: UN Interim Force in Lebanon|Lebanon. Armed Forces|PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS|INTERNAL SECURITY|LEBANON|MIDDLE EAST SITUATION|STAFF SECURITY|SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Votes in favour: 15
Votes against: 0
Abstentions: 0
Voting record:
country: ANGOLA
vote: yes
country: CHINA
vote: yes
country: EGYPT
vote: yes
country: FRANCE
vote: yes
country: JAPAN
vote: yes
country: MALAYSIA
vote: yes
country: NEW ZEALAND
vote: yes
country: RUSSIAN FEDERATION
vote: yes
country: SENEGAL
vote: yes
country: SPAIN
vote: yes
country: UKRAINE
vote: yes
country: UNITED KINGDOM
vote: yes
country: UNITED STATES
vote: yes
country: URUGUAY
vote: yes
country: VENEZUELA (BOLIVARIAN REPUBLIC OF)
vote: yes

               United Nations                                                                     S/RES/2305 (2016)
               Security Council                                                 Distr.: General
                                                                                30 August 2016




               Resolution 2305 (2016)
               Adopted by the Security Council at its 7763rd meeting, on
               30 August 2016

                    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) as well as the statements of its President on the situation in
               Lebanon, in particular the statement of its President dated 22 July 2016,
                     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 25 July 2016 and welcoming the letter from the
               Secretary-General to its President of 3 August 2016 (S/2016/681) 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 limited progress made towards the establishment of
               a permanent ceasefire and other key provisions of resolution 1701 (2006) 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) in particular the incidents which occurred on 20 December 2015 and
               4 January 2016,
                    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,



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                     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, 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), and recalling the necessity for all parties to ensure
               that UNIFIL personnel are secure and their freedom of movement is fully respected
               and unimpeded,
                    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 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,
                    Welcoming the efforts of the Secretary-General to keep all peacekeeping
               operations, including UNIFIL, under close review, and stressing the need for the
               Council to pursue a rigorous, strategic approach to peacekeeping deployments,
                     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, and expressing the need for a follow-up and update,



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                Calling upon Member States to assist the Lebanese Armed Forces as needed to
           enable it to perform its duties in line with resolution 1 701 (2006),
                 Determining that the situation in Lebanon continues to constitute a threat to
           international peace and security,
                1.    Decides to extend the present mandate of UNIFIL until 31 August 2017;
                2.   Commends the positive role of UNIFIL, whose deployment together with
           the Lebanese Armed Forces has helped to establish a new strategic environment in
           southern Lebanon, welcomes the expansion of coordinated activities between
           UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces, and calls for further enhancement of this
           cooperation;
                 3.    Welcomes in this regard the continued engagement of UNIFIL and the
           Lebanese Armed Forces in the Strategic Dialogue, which aims at carrying out
           analysis of ground forces and maritime assets and setting a series of benchmarks
           reflecting the correlation between the capacities and responsibilities of UNIFIL
           vis-à-vis those of the Lebanese Armed Forces, with a view to identifying Lebanese
           Armed Forces requirements for implementing tasks mandated in resolu tion 1701
           (2006);
                 4.    Requests the Secretary-General, in accordance with global peacekeeping
           best practice, to conduct by February 2017 a strategic review of UNIFIL, examining
           the structure of its uniformed and civilian components and related resources, f urther
           requests the Secretary-General to report to the Security Council on the results of
           this review, in an effort to ensure that the Mission is configured most appropriately
           to fulfil its mandated tasks, and affirms in this regard its strong continuing
           commitment to the existing UNIFIL mandate;
                 5.    Urges further international support for the Lebanese Armed Forces, in
           response to the capabilities development plan of the Lebanese Armed Forces, as
           well as in the framework of the International Support Group f or Lebanon, through
           additional and expedited assistance in areas where the Lebanese Armed Forces are
           most critically in need of support, including counter -terrorism and border
           protection;
                6.    Strongly calls upon all parties to respect the cessation of hostilities, to
           prevent any violation of the Blue Line and to respect it in its entirety and to
           cooperate fully with the United Nations and UNIFIL;
                 7.    Welcomes the constructive role played by the Tripartite Mechanism in
           facilitating coordination and in de-escalating tensions, which has helped to further
           stabilize the situation along the Blue Line and build trust between the parties, and
           expresses in this regard strong support for the efforts of UNIFIL to engage with both
           parties to facilitate liaison, coordination, and practical arrangements on the ground
           and to continue to ensure that the Tripartite Mechanism enables the parties to
           discuss a wider range of issues;
                 8.   Urges all parties to abide scrupulously by their obligation to respect the
           safety of UNIFIL and other United Nations personnel and to ensure that the freedom
           of movement of UNIFIL is fully respected and unimpeded, in conformity with its
           mandate and its rules of engagement including by avoiding any course of action
           which endangers United Nations personnel, and in this regard, calls for further
           cooperation between UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces in particular


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               regarding coordinated and adjacent patrols, welcomes the commitment of the
               Lebanese authorities to protect UNIFIL movements and reiterates its call for the
               rapid finalization of the investigation launched by Lebanon regarding the 27 May,
               26 July and 9 December 2011 attacks in order to bring to justice the perpetrators of
               these attacks;
                     9.   Urges all parties to cooperate fully with the Security Council and the
               Secretary-General to make tangible progress towards a permanent ceasefire and a
               long-term solution as envisioned in resolution 1701 (2006) and on all outstanding
               issues in the implementation of Security Council resolutions 1701 (2006), 1680
               (2006) and 1559 (2004), and other relevant Security Council resolutions;
                     10. Urges the Government of Israel to expedite the withdrawal of its army
               from northern Ghajar without further delay in coordination with UNIFIL, which has
               actively engaged Israel and Lebanon to facilitate such a withdrawal;
                     11. Reaffirms its call on all States to fully support and respect the
               establishment between the Blue Line and the Litani River of an area free of any
               armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the Government of
               Lebanon and UNIFIL;
                    12. Welcomes the efforts being undertaken by UNIFIL to implement the
               Secretary-General’s zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse and to
               ensure full compliance of its personnel with the United Nations co de of conduct,
               requests the Secretary-General to continue to take all necessary action in this regard
               and to keep the Security Council informed, and urges troop -contributing countries
               to take preventive and disciplinary action to ensure that such acts are properly
               investigated and punished in cases involving their personnel;
                     13. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to report to the Council on
               the implementation of resolution 1701 (2006), every four months, or at any time as
               he deems appropriate;
                     14. Stresses the importance of, and the need to achieve, a comprehensive,
               just and lasting peace in the Middle East, based on all its relevant resolutions
               including its resolutions 242 (1967) of 22 November 1967, 338 (1973) of
               22 October 1973, 1515 (2003) of 19 November 2003 and 1850 (2008) of
               16 December 2008;
                    15.   Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.




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