H. Res. 548 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

September 25, 2007. 

Whereas on February 14, 2005, former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, along with 22 other people, was assassinated by a massive bomb; 

Whereas Lebanon’s Cedar Revolution led to the withdrawal 

of Syrian troops from Lebanon in April 2005, following 

30 years of Syrian military occupation; 

Whereas parliamentary elections were held in Lebanon in 

May and June of 2005 leading to the formation of a government under Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, with a majority of the parliament and cabinet committed to 

strengthening Lebanon’s independence and the sovereignty of its democratic institutions of government; 

Whereas Lebanese independence and sovereignty are still 

threatened by an ongoing campaign of assassination and 

attempted assassinations of Lebanese political and public 

figures opposed to Syrian interference in Lebanon’s internal affairs, and terrorist bombings intended to incite ethnic and religious hatred, the continuing presence of statesponsored militias and foreign terrorist groups, and the 

ongoing and illegal trans-shipment of weapons and munitions from Iran and Syria into Lebanon; 
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Whereas the democratically-elected and legitimate government of Lebanon, in accordance with the mandate of 

United Nations Security Council resolutions and the relevant provisions of the Taif Accords, has made efforts, 

through the internal deployments of the Lebanese Armed 

Forces, to exercise its full sovereignty, so that there will 

be no weapon or authority within Lebanon other than 

that of the Government of Lebanon; 

Whereas the Lebanese Council of Ministers, on November 25, 

2006, approved a statute for the establishment of a tribunal of an international character according to the 

terms negotiated between the Government of Lebanon 

and the United Nations in order to bring to justice all 

those responsible for the terrorist bombing of February 

14, 2005; 

Whereas a majority of Lebanese members of parliament 

sought a vote in favor of ratifying the statute establishing 

a tribunal of an international character, and 70 of Lebanon’s then 127 parliamentarians sent a memorandum to 

the United Nations Secretary-General endorsing the establishment under the United Nations Charter of a Special Tribunal to bring to justice all those responsible for 

the terrorist bombing of February 14, 2005; 

Whereas the Lebanese parliament is scheduled to convene on 

September 25, 2007, to begin the process of electing the 

next President of Lebanon; 

Whereas Hezbollah, a United States Department of Statedesignated Foreign Terrorist Organization, and their proSyrian allies have declared the democratically-elected and 

legitimate Government of Lebanon ‘‘unconstitutional’’, 

and are seeking to topple the government through extralegal means, including rioting, continuous street dem-
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onstrations outside of the Council of Ministers, and obstructing traffic in Beirut; 

Whereas the transfer of weapons, ammunition, and fighters 

into Lebanon in contravention of United Nations Security 

Council Resolution 1701 (2006), has twice prompted the 

Security Council to issue statements, on April 17, 2007, 

(S/PRST/2007/12) and on June 11, 2007, (S/PRST/ 

2007/17) wherein it expressed deep and serious concern 

at mounting information by Israel and other states of illegal movements of arms into Lebanon, and in particular 

across the Lebanese-Syrian border, in violation of Security Council Resolution 1701; 

Whereas the United Nations Security Council, with the full 

support of the United States, has repeatedly adopted resolutions, notably, Resolutions 425 (1978), 520 (1982), 

1559 (2004), 1655 (2006), 1664 (2006), 1680 (2006), 

1701 (2006), and 1757 (2007) that, among other things, 

express the support of the international community for 

the sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity, and political 

independence of Lebanon under the sole and exclusive 

authority of the Government of Lebanon, and demand 

the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon; 

Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolutions, notably, 1595 (2005), 1636 (2005), 1644, (2005), 1664 

(2006), 1748 (2007), and 1757 (2007), underscore the 

importance of the pursuit of justice in response to the 

terrorist bombing of February 14, 2005, and if appropriate, other assassinations and assassination attempts 

since October 2004; 

Whereas the United Nations Security Council, with the full 

support of the United States, has sought to assist the 

Government of Lebanon in extending its authority over 
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•HRES 548 EH 

all Lebanese territory, including its sea, land, and air 

borders, through the presence of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in southern Lebanon 

and through technical and personnel assistance; 

Whereas the United Nations Security Council, with the full 

support of the United States, has strongly supported the 

demand of the Lebanese people that justice be done to 

those responsible for the terrorist attack of February 14, 

2005, and other terrorist attacks and attempted assassinations since October 2004, establishing and extending 

the mandate of the International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC) to investigate terrorist bombings 

of February 14, 2005, and moving toward the creation 

of a Special Tribunal of an international character, according to United Nations Security Council Resolutions 

1595 (2005), 1636 (2005), 1644 (2005), 1664 (2006), 

1686 (2006) and 1748 (2007); 

Whereas Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora in a letter 

of May 14, 2007, informed the Secretary General of the 

United Nations that, ‘‘the Lebanese Government believes 

that the time has come for the Security Council to help 

make the Special Tribunal for Lebanon a reality. We 

therefore ask you, as a matter of urgency, to put before 

the Security Council our request that the Special Tribunal be put into effect. A binding decision regarding the 

Tribunal on the part of the Security Council will be fully 

consistent with the importance the United Nations has 

attached to this matter from the outset, when the investigation commission was established. Further delays in 

setting up the Tribunal would be most detrimental to 

Lebanon’s stability, to the cause of justice, to the credi-
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bility of the United Nations itself and to peace and security in the region.’’; 

Whereas the United Nations Security Council, with the full 

support of the United States, adopted Resolution 1757, 

establishing on June 10, 2007, a Special Tribunal to try 

all those found responsible for the terrorist bombing of 

February 14, 2005, and if appropriate, both prior and 

subsequent attacks in Lebanon, unless the Government of 

Lebanon has provided notice that such a tribunal has 

been established under its own laws; 

Whereas the United States Congress has appropriated emergency economic and military assistance to Lebanon at 

levels far greater than the amounts of bilateral assistance 

provided in recent fiscal years; and 

Whereas it is manifestly in the interests of the United States 

and the international community to support the full sovereignty and political independence of Lebanon, its democratically-elected and legitimate government, and to insist 

that justice be done concerning the terrorist bombing of 

February 14, 2005, and both prior and subsequent politically-inspired assassinations and assassination attempts: 

Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

(1) condemns the attempts by Hezbollah and other 

pro-Syrian groups to undermine and intimidate the 

democratically-elected and legitimate Government of 

Lebanon by extra-legal means; 

(2) condemns the campaign of attempted and successful assassinations targeting members of parliament 

and public figures in favor of Lebanese independence 
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and sovereignty and opposed to Syrian interference in 

Lebanon, and bombings in civilian areas intended to intimidate the Lebanese people; 

(3) calls on the Lebanese parliament to elect a new 

President in accordance with the processes and timetable 

established by Lebanon’s constitution; 

(4) declares that the association of political parties 

with terrorist organizations, militias, and other elements 

retaining armed operational capabilities outside of the 

official military and security institutions of the Government of Lebanon hinders the emergence of a fully-democratic Lebanon; 

(5) confirms the strong support of the United 

States for United Nations Security Council resolutions 

concerning Lebanon, and the clear and binding mandate 

of the international community for the arms embargo 

and disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon, and 

particularly, Hezbollah and Palestinian factions in Lebanon; 

(6) condemns Syria and Iran for their ongoing roles 

in providing arms to terrorist organizations, Lebanese 

militias, and other militias operating in Lebanon, in blatant contravention of United Nations Security Council 

Resolution 1701; 
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(7) declares that the United States should consider 

Syria’s obstructive role in Lebanon when assessing the 

status and nature of United States bilateral relations 

with Syria; 

(8) expresses its strong appreciation to Belgium, 

China, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, 

Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Indonesia, 

Ireland, Italy, the Republic of Korea, Luxemburg, Malaysia, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, 

Qatar, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Tanzania, and 

Turkey for their contributions of military personnel to 

serve in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon 

(UNIFIL), now manned with 13,251 troops of the 

15,000 troops authorized in United Nations Security 

Council Resolution 1701; 

(9) urges the Government of Lebanon to request 

UNIFIL’s assistance to secure the Lebanese-Syrian border against the entry of illicit arms or related material 

under paragraphs 11(f) and 14 of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, and pledges earnest American support for this action, should the Government of 

Lebanon choose to do so; 

(10) calls on the international community to further 

support the mission of UNIFIL and efforts by the 

United Nations Secretary-General to improve the moni-
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toring of the Lebanese border in order to effectively implement the arms embargo on armed groups in Lebanon 

required by United Nations Security Council Resolution 

1701; 

(11) affirms strongly United States support for efforts to bring to justice those responsible for the terrorist bombing of February 14, 2005, and both prior 

and subsequent politically inspired assassinations, and 

for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon established by the 

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1757; 

(12) endorses prompt action by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon for the terrorist bombing of February 

14, 2005, and both prior and subsequent politically-inspired assassinations, under Chapter VII of the United 

Nations Charter; 

(13) pledges continued support for the democratically-elected and legitimate Government of Lebanon and 

the Lebanese people against the campaign of intimidation, terror, and murder directed at the Lebanese people 

and at political and public figures opposing Syrian interference in Lebanon; 

(14) commends the many Lebanese who continue to 

adhere steadfastly to the principles of the Cedar Revolution and support the democratically-elected and legitimate Government of Lebanon; 
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(15) applauds the Government of Lebanon’s efforts 

to fully extend Lebanon’s sovereignty over the entire 

country through the internal deployments of the Lebanese Armed Forces, including direct action against the 

Fatah al Islam group, and encourages the Government 

of Lebanon to intensify these efforts; and 

(16) re-affirms its intention to continue to provide 

financial and material assistance to support the sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity, and political independence of Lebanon under the sole and exclusive authority of the Government of Lebanon. 

Attest: 

Clerk.