To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which countries are believed to be breaching the UN arms embargo on Lebanon set out in UN Security Council Resolution 1701(2006); and what recent steps have been taken to improve the implementation of the arms embargo. (140369)

In March, the UN Secretary-General reported that there was mounting evidence that Hezbollah was rearming and smuggling arms across the Syria/Lebanon border in breach of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1701. While the UN Secretary-General’s report did not specifically identify the supplier of these arms, we continue to judge that both Syria and Iran are involved in providing Hezbollah with weapons in breach of UNSCR 1701. This is a serious concern.

The UK continues to work for the full implementation of UNSCR 1701. Bilaterally, the UK has provided the Lebanese armed forces with 47 Land Rovers to increase their mobility and capacity to implement UNSCR 1701. We are also supporting a German-led initiative to improve Lebanese border monitoring capacity.

The UK fully supported the UN Security Council decision to mandate a border assessment mission to visit Lebanon. The Lebanon Independent Border Assessment Team is currently in Lebanon assessing the current border security arrangements in support of UNSCR 1701. On its return, the team will provide recommendations to both the Secretary-General and the Government of Lebanon for improving the security of the Syria/Lebanon border.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what UN mechanisms exist for the review of the implementation of the restrictions set out in UN Security Council Resolution 1701(2006). (140370)

The UN Secretary-General is required to report on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1701 every three months. The UK fully supported the UN Security Council decision to mandate a border assessment mission to visit Lebanon. The Lebanon Independent Border Assessment Team is currently in Lebanon assessing the current border security arrangements in support of UNSCR 1701. On its return, the Team will provide recommendations to both the Secretary-General and the Government of Lebanon for improving the security of the Syria/Lebanon border.