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.
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.