Security Council resolution 2695 (2023) [on extension of the mandate of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) until 31 Aug. 2024]
Symbol: S/RES/2695 (2023)
Date: 2023-08-31
Status: adopted
Agenda: S/78 [57] UN INTERIM FORCE IN LEBANON
S/78 [54] MIDDLE EAST SITUATION
S/78 [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|ISRAEL|MIDDLE EAST SITUATION
Votes in favour: 13
Votes against: 0
Abstentions: 2
Voting record:
country: ALBANIA
vote: yes
country: BRAZIL
vote: yes
country: CHINA
vote: abstention
country: ECUADOR
vote: yes
country: FRANCE
vote: yes
country: GABON
vote: yes
country: GHANA
vote: yes
country: JAPAN
vote: yes
country: MALTA
vote: yes
country: MOZAMBIQUE
vote: yes
country: RUSSIAN FEDERATION
vote: abstention
country: SWITZERLAND
vote: yes
country: UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
vote: yes
country: UNITED KINGDOM
vote: yes
country: UNITED STATES
vote: yes

               United Nations                                                                 S/RES/2695 (2023)
               Security Council                                                Distr.: General
                                                                               31 August 2023




               Resolution 2695 (2023)
               Adopted by the Security Council at its 9409th meeting, on
               31 August 2023

                    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), 2305 (2016), 2373 (2017), 2433 (2018), 2485 (2019), 2539
               (2020), 2591 (2021) and 2650 (2023) as well as the statements of its President on the
               situation in Lebanon and the Press statements dated 19 December 2016, 27 March
               2018, 9 August 2018, 8 February 2019, 27 September 2021, 4 February 2022, 25 May
               2022, 7 July 2022, 19 October 2022 and 15 December 2022,
                    Strongly urging the Lebanese political leadership and Members of Parliament to
               assume their responsibilities and prioritise the national interest by electing a new
               President without further delay,
                     Expressing grave concern about the obstacles to the political process and
               implementation of the necessary reforms including economic reforms, stressing the
               urgent need for the Lebanese authorities to respond to the aspirations of the Lebanese
               people in order to overcome and recover from the current unprecedented acute
               political, social, economic and humanitarian crises by the urgent implementation of
               previously outlined tangible reforms that would enable the quick conclusion of an
               agreement with the IMF and the implementation of the commitments made by
               Lebanon in the framework of the CEDRE conference of 6 April 2018 as well as the
               International Support Group for Lebanon meeting in Paris on 11 December 2019,
               reiterating support to Lebanon to help it exit the current crises and to address the
               economic, security, and humanitarian challenges, underlining the importance of
               delivering reforms to ensure effective international support and calling upon the
               international community, including international organizations, to do so,
                    Welcoming the delineation by Lebanon and Israel, through mediation, of a
               maritime boundary on 27 October, 2022, which will contribute to the stability, the
               security, and the prosperity of the region,
                    Expressing its solidarity with Lebanon and its people in the aftermath of the
               explosions which struck Beirut on 4 August 2020, causing a significant number of
               casualties and wounding thousands of people, including some United Nations Interim
               Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) personnel, and causing severe damages to commercial
               and residential infrastructures as well as to UNIFIL capacities, welcoming the



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               International Conference on Assistance and Support to Lebanon and Beirut, organized
               on the 9 August 2020 by France and the United Nations and the follow-up
               International Conferences organized by France and the United Nations on 2 December
               2020 and 4 August 2021, further calling the international community to reinforce its
               support to Lebanon and its people in that context, deploring the lack of progress of
               an independent, impartial, thorough and transparent investigation into the explosions
               by the Lebanese judicial system, and further stressing the need for such an
               investigation,
                     Responding to the request of the Government of Lebanon to extend the mandate
               of the UNIFIL for a period of one year presented in a letter from the Lebanese
               caretaker Minister for Foreign Affairs and Emigrants to the Secretary General of
               21 June 2023 and welcoming the letter from the Secretary-General to its President of
               3 August 2023 (S/2023/587) 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 deep concern at the continued lack of progress made towards the
               establishment of a permanent ceasefire and other key provisions of resolution 1701
               (2006) seventeen 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, both by air and ground, in connection
               with resolution 1701 (2006) as underlined by the Secretary-General in his reports,
               and recalling the importance of control of the Government of Lebanon over all
               Lebanese territory,
                    Expressing concern at the continued Israeli presence in northern Ghajar and an
               adjacent area north of the Blue Line, and underlining that the continuation of
               construction works in the area run contrary to the necessary withdrawal of the Israel
               Defense Forces,
                     Expressing concern regarding the installation of tents south of the Blue Line in
               the occupied Shab’a Farms, near Bastrah, with individuals crossing from north of the
               Blue Line to access the structure which the Secretary-General assesses constitutes a
               violation of resolution 1701,
                    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,
                     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,
                     Condemning the incidents of August-September 2019, 14 April 2020, 17 April
               2020, 27 July 2020 May 2021, 20 July 2021, 4–6 August 2021, 25 April 2022, 6 and
               7 April 2023 and 6 July 2023 which occurred across the Blue Line, calling on the
               parties to resort to the Tripartite Mechanism when such incidents occur, and further
               commending the liaison and prevention role played by UNIFIL allowing for
               de-escalation,



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                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), and reiterating its call for the Government of Lebanon to secure its
           borders and other entry points to prevent the entry in Lebanon without its consent of
           arms or related materiel and for UNIFIL, as authorized in paragraph 11 of resolution
           1701 (2006) to assist the Government of Lebanon at its request,
                Reiterating the importance of the extension of the control of the Government of
           Lebanon over all Lebanese territory in accordance with the provisions of resolution
           1559 (2004) and resolution 1680 (2006), and of the relevant provisions of the Taif
           Accords,
                 Encouraging all Lebanese parties to resume discussions towards a consensus on
           a National Defence Strategy through a national dialogue as soon as a new President
           is elected, in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions and the Taif
           Agreement,
                 Recalling the utmost importance that all parties concerned respect the Blue Line
           in its entirety, noting with concern the installation of containers and other
           infrastructure along the Blue Line which restrict UNIFIL’s access to, or visibility of
           the Blue Line, and whose proximity to UNIFIL positions is also of concern, also
           noting with great and increasing concern that UNIFIL still has not been able to access
           unauthorized firing ranges and all relevant locations north of the Blue Line related to
           the discovery of tunnels crossing the Blue Line which UNIFIL reported as a violation
           of resolution 1701 (2006), and urging the Lebanese authorities to urgently conclude
           all necessary investigations on the matter, in line with resolution 1701 (2006),
                 Noting the lack of progress in the marking of the Blue Line, encouraging the
           parties to resume and 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,
           and encouraging all parties to refrain from any unilateral action which could risk
           undermining the integrity of the Blue Line,
                 Condemning in the strongest terms all attempts to threaten the security and
           stability of Lebanon,
                 Reaffirming its determination to ensure that no acts of intimidation prevent
           UNIFIL from implementing its mandate in accordance with Security C ouncil
           resolution 1701 (2006), recalling the necessity for all parties to ensure that UNIFIL
           personnel are secure and their freedom of movement is fully respected and unimpeded
           and continues to respect the separate, supporting mandate under which Observer
           Group Lebanon operates, condemning in the strongest terms all attempts to restrict
           the freedom of movement of UNIFIL’s personnel, all acts of harassment and
           intimidation and all attacks against peacekeepers, including the attacks against
           UNIFIL forces on 4 August 2018 near the town of Majdal Zun, on 25 May 2020 in
           the town of Belida Southern Lebanon, and on the 10 February 2020, in Brashit, on
           22 December 2021 in Shaqra, on 4 January 2022 in Bint Jubayl, on 13 January 2022
           in Ayta al Sha’b and on 25 January 2022 in Ramiyah and strongly condemning in
           particular the fatal attack on a UNIFIL convoy near Aqibiyah on 14 December 2022
           during which a peacekeeper was killed and three others were injured, and und erlining
           that all parties must abide by their obligations to respect the safety of UNIFIL and all
           United Nations personnel,
                 Urging the Lebanese authorities to swiftly provide UNIFIL with further updates
           on the actions taken and finalise investigations on these matters, and taking note of
           the issuance of an indictment on 1 June by the military investigative judge in relation

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               with the killing of a peacekeeper and injuries to three other peacekeepers in the fatal
               attack on the UNIFIL convoy near Aqibiyah on 14 December 2022,
                     Expressing concern regarding the electronic signature of the fire control radar
               of an F16 aircraft radar in lock-on mode on a UNIFIL Maritime Task Force vessel on
               26 April 2023, and underlining that all parties must abide by their obliga tions to
               respect the safety of UNIFIL and all United Nations personnel,
                    Recalling the importance of ensuring the protection of children and taking
               appropriate measures in this regard, in line with relevant Security Council resolutions
               on Children and armed conflict,
                    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,
                    Recognizing that UNIFIL has successfully implemented its mandate since 2006
               and has allowed for maintaining peace and security since then,
                     Recalling the request from the Government of Lebanon to deploy an
               international force to assist it to exercise its authority th roughout 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, as the only legitimate armed forces in Lebanon, 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, strongly urging further and increased international support to the
               Lebanese Armed Forces in the context of the current economic crisis, and further
               noting the relevance of this increased capacity in relation to their efforts to coordinate
               with UNIFIL in the implementation of the UNIFIL mandate, and calling upon
               Member States to urgently assist the Lebanese Armed Forces as needed to enable it
               to perform its duties in line with resolution 1701 (2006),
                    Expressing concern about the strong negative impact of the current social,
               economic and humanitarian crises on the capacities of the Lebanese Armed Forces
               and security forces,
                     Recalling resolution 2378 (2017) and its request of the Secretary-General to
               ensure that data related to the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations, including
               peacekeeping performance data, is used to improve analytics and the evaluation of
               mission operations, based on clear and well identified benchmarks, further recalling
               resolution 2436 (2018) and its request of the Secretary-General to ensure that
               decisions to recognize and incentivize outstanding performance and decisions
               regarding deployment, remediation, training, withholding of financial
               reimbursement, and repatriation of uniformed or dismissal of civilian personnel, are
               predicated on objective performance data, and emphasizing the need to regularly
               evaluate UNIFIL’s performance such that the mission retains the skills and flexibility
               needed to effectively carry out its mandate,



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                 Also recalling resolution 2242 (2015) and its request of the Secretary-General
           to initiate, in collaboration with Member States, a revised strategy, within existing
           resources, to double the number of women in military and police contingents of UN
           peacekeeping operations,
                 Emphasizing the need to regularly review all peacekeeping operations to ensure
           efficiency and effectiveness, including reviews of UNIFIL when appropriate, taking
           into account developments on the ground,
                 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, taking note of his letter of 8 March 2017 (S/2017/202)
           as a result of the most recent Strategic Review of UNIFIL, and expressing the need
           for a follow-up and update,
                 Welcoming the Secretary-General’s 1 June 2020 Assessment of UNIFIL and
           noting with appreciation the recommendations to further increase the efficiency and
           effectiveness of UNIFIL,
                 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 Aug ust 2024;
                 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
           without prejudice to UNIFIL’s mandate;
                3.     Affirms its strong continuing commitment to the existing UNIFIL mandate
           and calls for the full implementation of resolution 1701 (2006);
                 4.    Reiterates its call for Israel and Lebanon to support a permanent ceasefire
           and a long-term solution based on the principles and elements set out in paragraph 8
           of resolution 1701 (2006);
                 5.   Strongly reaffirms the necessity of an effective and durable deployment of
           the Lebanese Armed Forces in southern Lebanon and the territorial waters of Lebanon
           at an accelerated pace to fully implement the provisions of resolution 1701 (2006)
           and requests the Secretary-General to include in his future reports assessments of
           progress made in this regard and calls for renewed 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;
                 6.  Reiterates its request for precise benchmarks and timelines to be jointly
           and promptly elaborated by the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Secretary -General,
           for the deployments in paragraph 5, with a view to identifying Lebanese A rmed
           Forces progress in implementing tasks mandated in resolution 1701 (2006);
                7.     Reiterates its call for the Government of Lebanon to present a plan to
           increase its naval capabilities as soon as possible, including with appropriate support
           from the international community, with the goal of ultimately decreasing UNIFIL’s
           Maritime Taskforce and transitioning its responsibilities to the Lebanese Armed
           Forces (LAF), in close conjunction with the effective build -up of the capabilities of
           the Lebanese Navy, takes note in that regard of the letter dated 12 March 2019 to the
           United Nations outlining the commitment of the Government of Lebanon and



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               welcomes its ongoing efforts towards that goal; takes note of the impact of the Beirut
               explosions on 4 August 2020 on the operations of the LAF;
                     8.   Welcomes the report of the Secretary-General on the assessment of the
               continued relevance of UNIFIL’s resources and options for improving the efficiency
               and effectiveness between UNIFIL and UNSCOL, taking into consideration the troop
               ceiling and the civilian component of UNIFIL (S/2020/473) and requests the
               Secretary-General to continue the implementation of his detailed plan, with timelines
               and specific modalities, in full and close consultation with the parties, including
               Lebanon, the troop-contributing countries and the Members of the Security Council,
               to implement recommendations, as appropriate, and further requests him to
               periodically update the Security Council on this process;
                     9.    Strongly encourages the Government of Lebanon to accelerate its
               deployment of a model regiment and an offshore patrol vessel in UNIFIL’s area of
               operations to advance the implementation of resolution 1701 (2006) and the authority
               of the Lebanese State, recalls in this regard the joint statement issued at the end of
               the 15 March 2018 Rome Conference, in particular Lebanon’s concept for a new
               Model Regiment proposed in the context of the ongoing Strategic Dialogue between
               the LAF and UNIFIL, welcomes the inauguration of the model regiment headquarters
               on 13 June 2022 and the subsequent deployment of 76 personnel, calls upon the
               Lebanese Armed Forces to work towards a full deployment of model regiment troops
               at the earliest opportunity, including with the meaningful participation of women
               military personnel, and calls on the Lebanese Armed Forces and UNIFIL to strengthen
               their coordinated actions;
                    10. Strongly urges further and increased international support for the Lebanese
               Armed Forces and all state security institutions, which are the only legi timate armed
               forces of Lebanon, in response to the capabilities development plan of the Lebanese
               Armed Forces, as well as in the framework of the International Support Group for
               Lebanon, through additional and expedited assistance in areas where the Lebane se
               Armed Forces are most critically in need of support, including daily logistical needs
               and maintenance, counter-terrorism, border protection and naval capacity;
                    11. Condemns all violations of the Blue Line, both by air and ground, and
               strongly calls upon all parties to respect their obligations under international law as
               well as 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;
                     12. Welcomes the constructive role played by the Tripartite Mechanism in
               facilitating coordination and in de-escalating tensions, and recognizes the mission
               leadership’s active efforts, which has helped to further stabilize the situation along
               the Blue Line and build trust between the parties, expresses in this regard strong
               support for the continued 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, and encourages UNIFIL, in close coordination with the parties, to implement
               measures to further reinforce the capacities of the Tripartite mechanism, including the
               creation of additional ad hoc sub-committees, as recommended in the assessment
               report of the Secretary-General, strongly urges the parties to make a systematic,
               constructive and expanded use of the Tripartite mechanism, including the
               subcommittee on the marking of the Blue Line and additional ad hoc sub-committees
               and to accelerate efforts to delineate and visibly mark the Blue Line in its entirety, as
               well as to move forward on resolving points of contention;
                    13. Stresses the need to foster enhanced cooperation between UNIFIL an d the
               Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL), with the
               goal of improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the missions, welcomes in this

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           regard the improvements accomplished by the United Nations in terms of efficiencies
           and effectiveness between UNIFIL and UNSCOL and encourages the Secretary -
           General to further these efforts;
                 14. Urges all parties to abide scrupulously by their obligation to respect the
           safety of UNIFIL and other United Nations personnel, calls on them to take all
           appropriate measures to enhance the safety and security of United Nations personnel
           and equipment, and reiterates its call for closer cooperation between UNIFIL and the
           Lebanese Armed Forces in particular regarding coordinated and adjacent patrol s,
           welcomes the commitment of the Lebanese authorities to protect UNIFIL movements
           and access, and reiterates its call for the rapid finalization of the investigations
           launched by Lebanon regarding all attacks against UNIFIL and its personnel, in
           particular the incidents of 4 August 2018, 10 February 2020, 22 December 2021, 4,
           13 and 25 January 2022 in UNIFIL’s area of operations, as well as the fatal incident
           that took place on 14 December 2022, in order to swiftly bring to justice the
           perpetrators of these attacks, recalls the necessity for the Lebanese authorities to
           investigate all attacks against UNIFIL and its personnel in line with resolution 2589
           (2021) and bring to justice the perpetrators of those incidents in accordance with the
           Lebanese law and requests the Secretary-General to report to the Council, within a
           reasonable timeframe, when such incidents occur as well as, when appropriate, on the
           follow-up of the related pending investigations;
                 15. Urges all parties to cooperate fully with the Head of Mission and UNIFIL
           in the implementation of resolution 1701, as well as to ensure that the freedom of
           movement of UNIFIL in all its operations and UNIFIL’s access to the Blue Line in all
           its parts 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, reaffirms that, pursuant to the Agreement on the Status of the
           United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (SOFA) between the Government of
           Lebanon and the United Nations, UNIFIL does not require prior authorization or
           permission to undertake its mandated tasks and that UNIFIL is authorized to conduct
           its operation independently, while continuing to coordinate with the Government of
           Lebanon, as per the SOFA, condemns in the strongest terms all attempts to deny
           access or restrict the freedom of movement of UNIFIL’s personnel and all attacks on
           UNIFIL personnel and equipment as well as acts of harassment and intimidation of
           UNIFIL personnel and disinformation campaigns against UNIFIL; calls on the
           Government of Lebanon to facilitate UNIFIL’s prompt and full access to sites
           requested by UNIFIL for the purpose of swift investigation, includin g all locations of
           interest, all relevant locations north of the Blue Line related to the discovery of
           tunnels crossing the Blue Line which UNIFIL reported as a violation of resolution
           1701 (2006), and unauthorized firing ranges in line with resolution 1701, while
           respecting the Lebanese Sovereignty;
                16. Demands the parties cease any restrictions and hindrances to the
           movement of UNIFIL personnel and guarantee the freedom of movement of UNIFIL,
           including by allowing announced and unannounced patrols;
                17. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to take all appropriate
           measures to review and enhance the safety and security of peacekeeping personnel of
           UNIFIL, in line with resolution 2518 (2020), the Action Plan on improving safety and
           security related to the report on “Improving Security of United Nations Peacekeepers”
           and other relevant Security Council resolutions;
                18. 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



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               issues in the implementation of Security Council resolutions 1701 (2006), 1680
               (2006) and 1559 (2004), and other relevant Security Council resolutions;
                     19. Strongly urges the Government of Israel to expedite the withdrawal of its
               army from northern Ghajar and the adjacent area north of the Blue Line without
               further delay in coordination with UNIFIL, which has actively engaged Israel and
               Lebanon to facilitate such a withdrawal;
                     20. 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;
                     21. Condemns the continued maintenance of arms outside the control of the
               Lebanese State by armed groups in violation of resolution 1701 (2006) and recalls
               paragraph 15 of resolution 1701 (2006) according to which all States shall take the
               necessary measures to prevent, by their nationals or from their territories or using flag
               vessels or aircraft, the sale or supply of arms and related materiel to any e ntity or
               individual in Lebanon other than those authorized by the Government of Lebanon or
               UNIFIL;
                      22. Acting in support of a request from the Government of Lebanon to deploy
               an international force to assist it to exercise its authority throughout the ter ritory,
               recalls its authorization to UNIFIL to take all necessary action in areas of deployment
               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, to resist attem pts by forceful means
               to prevent it from discharging its duties under the mandate of the Security Council,
               and to protect United Nations personnel, facilities, installations and equipment,
               ensure the security and freedom of movement of United Nations perso nnel,
               humanitarian workers and, without prejudice to the responsibility of the Government
               of Lebanon, to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence;
                     23. Commends UNIFIL’s operational changes in line with resolution 2373
               (2017) and resolution 2433 (2018) and the adoption in February 2023 of a strategy to
               address misinformation and disinformation in line with resolution 2650 (2022) and
               reiterates its request that the Secretary-General look at ways to enhance UNIFIL’s
               efforts as regards paragraph 12 of resolution 1701 (2006) and paragraph 13 of this
               resolution, including ways to increase UNIFIL’s visible presence, including through
               patrols and inspections, within its existing mandate and capabilities, requests UNIFIL
               to improve its communication efforts to support the implement ation of its mandate,
               enhance its protection, and raise awareness on its mandate, its role, and its authority
               to operate independently, as well as to underscore the role and responsibilities of the
               Lebanese authorities in line with resolution 1701, and to keep on prioritizing the
               development of an annual strategic communications strategy outlining how it will
               improve these efforts, and requests UNIFIL to strengthen its efforts to monitor and to
               counter disinformation and misinformation that might hinder the mission’s ability to
               implement its mandate or threaten the safety and security of peacekeepers and to
               develop an annual strategy to counter disinformation and misinformation;
                     24. Recalls the decision that UNIFIL shall assist the government of Lebanon,
               at its request, as set out in paragraph 14 of resolution 1701 (2006) and within its
               capabilities, to implement resolution 1701 (2006);
                    25. Underscores that the sustainability of peace and security supports is
               improved by the implementation of the United Nations Department of Operational
               Support’s Environment Strategy (Phase II), which emphasizes good stewardship of
               resources and a positive legacy of the mission, and identifies the goal of expanded



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           renewable energy use in missions to enhance safety and security, save costs, offer
           efficiencies and benefit the mission;
                 26. 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 code of conduct,
           requests the Secretary-General to continue to take necessary measures to ensure full
           compliance of all personnel, civilian and uniformed, in UNIFIL with the United
           Nations zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse and to keep the
           Security Council fully informed about the Mission’s progress in this regard, stresses
           the need to prevent such exploitation and abuse and to improve how allegations are
           addressed in line with its resolution 2272 (2016), and urges troop-contributing
           countries to continue taking appropriate preventative action, including vetting of all
           personnel, pre-deployment and in-mission awareness training, and to take appropriate
           steps to ensure full accountability in cases of such conduct involving their personnel,
           including through timely investigations of allegations, as appropriate, and to hold
           perpetrators accountable and repatriate units when there is credible evidence of
           widespread or systemic sexual exploitation and abuse by those units;
                  27. Requests UNIFIL to take fully into account gender considerations as a
           cross-cutting issue throughout its mandate and to assist the Lebanese authorities in
           ensuring the full, equal, effective and meaningful participation, involvement and
           representation of women at all levels of decision -making in all efforts for the
           maintenance and promotion of peace and security, including in the security sector,
           further requests continued reporting by UNIFIL to the Security Council on this issue,
           and request UNIFIL to continue supporting these efforts within its mandate welcomes
           the continued progress made to implement Lebanon’s first National Action Plan on
           Women, Peace and Security, commends the increase in women’s participation in the
           LAF Military Academy and encourages the Government of Lebanon to continue to
           fully implement its National Action Plan, with the support of the United Nations and
           women’s civil society organizations, as soon as possible, including to prevent and
           respond to sexual and gender based violence and to increase women’s representation
           in all levels of Lebanon’s security forces and governments;
                 28. Requests the Secretary-General and the troop-contributing countries to
           seek to increase the number of women in UNIFIL, as well as to ensure the full,
           effective and meaningful participation of women in all aspects of operations and to
           implement relevant provisions of resolution 2538 (2020) in this regard;
                29. Requests the Secretary-General, in the planning and conduct of UNIFIL’s
           operations, to implement peacekeeping performance requirements under resolutions
           2378 (2017) and 2436 (2018);
                 30. 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, and to include in his reporting a prompt and detailed breakdown
           of all resolution 1701 (2006) violations, clarifications by the parties and updates on
           all efforts to hold perpetrators of such violations accountable as well as pending
           investigations into such violations of resolution 1701, prompt and detailed reports on
           violations of the sovereignty of Lebanon, on restrictions to UNIFIL’s freedom of
           movement, including details concerning requests submitted by UNIFIL to the
           Lebanese authorities and any additional steps taken by UNIFIL, attacks, provocations
           and incitement to hatred and violence and disinformation and misinformation
           campaigns against UNIFIL, an annex on progress made in mobilization of
           international support for the LAF, an enhanced annex on the implementation on the
           arms embargo, reports on specific areas where UNIFIL does not access and on the
           reasons behind these restrictions, potential risks to the cessation of hostilities and

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S/RES/2695 (2023)

               UNIFIL’s response as well as reports on progress made as regards the detailed plan
               on the implementation of the 1 June assessment report as set out in paragraph 8 of the
               present resolution and on additional identified efficiencies to most appropriately fulfil
               its mandated tasks; measures to keep on improving external communication of the
               mission and to counter disinformation and misinformation; requests the Secretary-General to continue to provide concrete and detailed information on the
               aforementioned issues to the Council, in line with changes to enhance reporting since
               the adoption of resolutions 2373 (2017), 2433 (2018), 2485 (2019), 2539 (2020) and
               2650 (2022);
                     31. 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 includin g
               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;
                    32.   Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.




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