The present report provides a comprehensive assessment of the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) since the previous report, issued on 16 November 2021 (S/2021/953), including on the provisions of resolution 2591 (2021). Outstanding obligations remain for both parties under resolution 1701 (2006). There was no progress towards a permanent ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.
2. I witnessed the impact of the severe economic and financial crisis on the Lebanese people during my State visit to the country from 19 to 22 December 2021, where I met with a wide range of political, military, religious and civil society leaders, including women and young people. In addition to Beirut, I visited Tripoli, in northern Lebanon, and the south, where the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is deployed. In my meetings with political leaders, I urged them to adopt and implement reforms that responded to the demands of the Lebanese people for greater accountability and transparency, and I emphasized the need to start swiftly formal negotiations on an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). I reiterated the importance of free, fair and inclusive parliamentary elections, to be held in a timely manner in 2022, as an essential opportunity for the people to make their voices heard. In my meeting with the Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces, I emphasized the support of the United Nations for the Lebanese Armed Forces as the only legitimate armed forces of Lebanon and as a partner to UNIFIL. My visit to the Beirut port to commemorate the victims of the explosion of 4 August 2020 served as an important reminder of the need for an impartial, thorough and transparent investigation. Throughout the country, I saw increased humanitarian needs that required structural, sustainable and Lebanese-led solutions.
II. Implementation of resolution 1701 (2006)
A. Situation in the area of operations of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon
3. Tensions persisted along the Blue Line. UNIFIL also experienced an increase in incidents restricting its freedom of movement and observed the presence of unauthorized weapons south of the Litani River.
4. UNIFIL observed illumination rounds fired by the Israel Defense Forces that fell north of the Blue Line on five occasions, that is, close to Sarda (Sector East) on 29 October 2021, close to Aytarun (Sector West) on 3 February 2022 and close to Ghajar (Sector East) on 24 November and 21 December 2021 and on 9 February 2022.
5. Instances of weapon pointing across the Blue Line also continued, requiring UNIFIL to interpose between the parties on 1 November in Mays al-Jabal and on 2 and 3 November near Udaysah (both Sector East), in connection with engineering works by the Israel Defense Forces in the area. On 28 October 2021, UNIFIL observed the Israel Defense Forces firing into the air close to Mays al-Jabal after a Lebanese tractor had crossed the Blue Line.
6. The Israel Defense Forces continued to enter Lebanese airspace in violation of resolution 1701 (2006) and of Lebanese sovereignty. During the reporting period, UNIFIL recorded 131 airspace violations, totalling 197 hours and 45 minutes in overflight time. Unmanned aerial vehicles accounted for approximately 80 per cent of the violations. The remaining airspace violations involved fighter aircraft or unidentified aircraft. On 17 February 2022, the Israel Defense Forces informed UNIFIL that they had shot down a drone that had crossed south of the Blue Line, close to Aytarun. On 18 February, they also informed UNIFIL that they had observed another drone crossing south of the Blue Line, for which Hizbullah publicly claimed responsibility. Media reports indicated that Israeli fighter aircraft had flown over Beirut at low altitude later that day. UNIFIL did not observe those incidents.
7. During the reporting period, UNIFIL recorded 298 ground violations by Lebanese civilians crossing south of the Blue Line, including 233 violations by shepherds and farmers, mainly in the Shab?a Farms area, 19 violations by civilians on their way to the Shu?ayb well, near Blida, and 45 violations by other individuals in civilian clothes. On 26 October 2021, three Israel Defense Forces soldiers crossed north of the Blue Line close to Kfar Shuba (Sector East) in connection with groundwork conducted south of the Blue Line. In identical letters dated 30 November 2021 addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council (A/76/582-S/2021/993), in response to the identical letters dated 9 July 2021 from the Permanent Representative of Israel addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council (S/2021/644), the Permanent Representative of Lebanon stated that the Israeli side claimed that all civilians anywhere near the Blue Line were terrorist operatives, thereby trying to create the impression that Lebanon was not in compliance with relevant international resolutions on the southern border, and that it was the opposite of the true situation.
8. On 27 October 2021, the Israel Defense Forces apprehended a 15-year-old Lebanese shepherd who had crossed south of the Blue Line close to Kfar Shuba (Sector East). The minor returned north of the Blue Line the same day, following the intervention of UNIFIL. After UNIFIL observed two individuals throwing a backpack over the Israeli technical fence in the vicinity of Ghajar (Sector East) on 20 December, the Israel Defense Forces informed the mission that they had prevented a smuggling attempt from Lebanon into Israel. On 31 December 2021 and 10 February 2022, the Israel Defense Forces informed UNIFIL that they had apprehended three Sudanese nationals who had crossed south of the Blue Line close to Hula (Sector East) and Rumaysh (Sector West), respectively.
9. The occupation of northern Ghajar and an adjacent area north of the Blue Line by the Israel Defense Forces continued. While the Government of Lebanon has welcomed the proposal made by UNIFIL in 2011 to facilitate the withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces from the occupied area, the Government of Israel has yet to respond.
10. To help to keep the area between the Blue Line and the Litani River free of unauthorized armed personnel, assets and weapons, UNIFIL, in close coordination with the Lebanese Armed Forces, maintained 16 permanent checkpoints and an average of 122 temporary checkpoints and conducted 298 counter-rocket-launching operations on average each month. UNIFIL observed unauthorized weapons in the area of operations on 309 occasions. All but the following three incidents involved hunting weapons. On 23 November 2021, UNIFIL observed one individual with a pistol and professional camera walking along the Israeli technical fence in the vicinity of Ramiyah (Sector West). On 6 December, UNIFIL peacekeepers observed a group of seven individuals, one of whom had a pistol, in the vicinity of Ayta al-Sha‘b (Sector West). On 2 February 2022, UNIFIL observed two individuals each carrying a pistol and a knife close to the Blue Line in the vicinity of Ayta al-Sha‘b. UNIFIL informed the Lebanese Armed Forces of the incidents.
11. Pursuant to resolution 2591 (2021), UNIFIL maintained its high operational tempo and visible presence throughout the area of operations, conducting on average 14,204 monthly military operational activities, including 5,962 vehicular, air or foot patrols. Air reconnaissance patrols continued over areas where ground patrols have limited access, including private property, land contaminated by explosive remnants of war or anti-personnel mines and wadis. Community engagement walks, which had been suspended because of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, resumed in December 2021.
12. Despite repeated requests, UNIFIL has yet to gain full access to several locations of interest, including several Green without Borders sites. While the freedom of movement of UNIFIL was respected in most cases, the mission faced an increasing number of restrictions to its movements and an increasing level of aggressive behaviour and confrontation (see annex I). The most serious incident took place in Ramiyah, on 25 January 2022, with an altercation with individuals who had halted the patrol that resulted in the hospitalization of one peacekeeper. In Shaqra, on 22 December 2021, stones were thrown at UNIFIL vehicles, causing damage, while in Bint Jubayl, on 4 January 2022, the tires of two UNIFIL vehicles were slashed. On 13 January, 20 civilians, of whom 6 were armed with assault rifles, 4 with machetes and 1 with a metal rod, approached a UNIFIL patrol in Ayta al-Sha‘b and demanded that it leaves the area. UNIFIL also encountered a restriction of its movement outside its area of operations on 24 January, when a logistical convoy on its way to the Beirut airport was stopped by a group of individuals in civilian clothes, who self-identified as members of Hizbullah and forced the peacekeepers to hand over equipment. All items were subsequently returned to UNIFIL.
13. On 26 January 2022, the President of Lebanon, Michel Aoun, condemned any attack against United Nations peacekeepers, noting that an investigation into the attack on the UNIFIL patrol in the town of Ramiyah had been opened. The same day, the Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Bassam Mawlawi, informed local media that he had instructed the security agencies to open an investigation and called upon local authorities in the south to assist UNIFIL in its work, noting that such incidents violated the work of the peacekeepers of securing stability in the south and implementing Security Council resolutions. In identical letters dated 24 November 2021 addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council (S/2021/976), the Permanent Representative of Israel stated that the obstruction of UNIFIL movement in essence allowed Hizbullah to continue its military build-up in southern Lebanon unencumbered, threatening the safety and security of both Israelis and Lebanese civilians. He also stated that the recurring violent assaults against UNIFIL forces and their restriction of movement were not random or isolated episodes but deliberate attacks that were part of a broader strategy designed to limit the effectiveness of United Nations peacekeeping troops in the area.
14. The UNIFIL Maritime Task Force continued to carry out interdiction operations throughout the maritime area of operations, hailing 2,021 vessels. The Lebanese Armed Forces inspected and cleared 354 of the 365 vessels that UNIFIL had referred for inspection. The Lebanese Armed Forces cancelled nine inspection requests, owing to internal communication delays, while two requests remained pending.
15. UNIFIL and the Lebanese Navy continued preparatory steps for a partial transfer of Maritime Task Force responsibilities by conducting 447 training sessions and exercises and jointly practising common operational standards for commanding, monitoring and hailing activities. Twenty advanced maritime interdiction operation integration training sessions, increasing in duration from 72 to 96 hours, were held. The participation of Lebanese Navy vessels fluctuated, owing to resource constraints. The UNIFIL Maritime Task Force and the Lebanese Armed Forces also conducted 11 search and rescue exercises, including 4 with the Lebanese Air Force, and six helicopter deck landing exercises. The Maritime Task Force provided nine train-thetrainer courses at the Jounieh Naval School and participated in a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Global Maritime Crime Programme exercise with the Lebanese Navy and other governmental agencies on 1 and 2 December 2021.
16. The Lebanese Armed Forces and UNIFIL continued their engagement within the framework of the strategic dialogue process. In a meeting co-chaired with UNIFIL held on 14 December 2021, the Lebanese Armed Forces briefed international partners on the ongoing construction of the model regiment headquarters in Sribbin (Sector West) and ongoing bilateral projects in support of the Lebanese Navy. With the model regiment headquarters expected to be completed in early 2022, donors recommended the deployment of a first company to be drawn from existing Lebanese Armed Forces troops, with additional units to be deployed when resources allowed.
17. Pursuant to paragraph 11 of resolution 2591 (2021), UNIFIL and the Government of Lebanon signed a memorandum of understanding on 10 December 2021 regarding the provision by UNIFIL of additional non-lethal support to the Lebanese Armed Forces to maintain critical operational capacity in the framework of joint activities. The memorandum outlines a mechanism to ensure oversight of the end use of the assistance of and compliance with the human rights due diligence policy on United Nations support to non-United Nations security forces. UNIFIL has provided 210,000 litres of diesel fuel, food items for 162,000 meals, medicines, medical equipment and personal protective equipment. The percentage of UNIFIL operations conducted in close coordination with the Lebanese Armed Forces increased from 13.8 per cent of all operations that could be conducted in close coordination in July 2021 to an average of 15.3 per cent during the reporting period. This remains below the 22 per cent of operations conducted in close coordination with the Lebanese Armed Forces at the end of 2019, before the onset of the economic crisis.
Source: UN Security Council