VZCZCXRO4763
OO RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUCNDT #0676/01 1920031
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 110031Z JUL 09
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6900
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 USUN NEW YORK 000676 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL KPAL KPKO UN IS LE SY
SUBJECT: UN SECURITY COUNCIL CONSULTATIONS ON SYG'S 
QUARTERLY REPORT ON UNSCR 1701 - LEBANON 
 
REF: STATE 69808 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: In July 8 Security Council consultations 
on the UNSCR 1701 report, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon 
Williams told the Council that the successful Lebanese 
parliamentary elections and the calm during the reporting 
period offers a real opportunity for full implementation of 
UNSCR 1701 and the establishment of a permanent cease-fire 
between Lebanon and Israel.  He highlighted the high degree 
of competence exhibited by the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) 
during the period, but noted that Hizballah continued to 
maintain its own arms and the lack of progress on the 
disarmament of armed groups.  Both Williams and the DPKO 
representative noted the Israeli hand-over of cluster 
munitions strike data was useful.  Council members also 
lauded Lebanon's successful parliamentary elections and 
UNIFIL's work maintaining calm, but many members called for 
greater progress on enforcement of the arms embargo, border 
control, and disarmament of armed groups.  Many Council 
members called for the end of Israel's overflights of Lebanon 
with some linking those flights to the lack of border 
control.  Council members almost unanimously called for 
Israel's withdrawal from northern Ghajar.  A number of 
Council members expressed concern about the allegations of 
the Israeli spy ring in Lebanon.  End summary. 
 
UNSCOL briefing 
--------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams 
briefed the Council on July 8 during its consultations on the 
Secretary-General's tenth report on the implementation of 
UNSCR 1701.  He emphasized the calm in Lebanon during the 
reporting period, especially during the Lebanese 
parliamentary elections, and called for "renewed vigor" to 
fully implement UNSCR 1701 and establish a permanent 
cease-fire between Lebanon and Israel.  He commented that 
political tensions had decreased markedly in Lebanon since 
the elections but there is no date certain by when the new 
government will be formed and present its policy platform, 
though he expects it to commit fully to UNSCR 1701.  He 
underlined that Hizballah continues to maintain its arms, 
separate from the state, and has publicly spoken of its 
support, including military assistance to Palestinian 
militants.  He reiterated the Secretary-General's call for 
the disarmament of such groups through a Lebanese-led 
political process.  He noted that the hardship in the 
Palestinian refugee camps aids in the recruitment of 
extremist groups and called on the next government to 
continue the work of the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue 
Committee established by the Siniora government. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Williams emphasized several times during 
consultations the high degree of competence demonstrated by 
the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and security forces during 
the June elections.  He called on the international community 
to support the security sector since it will play a key role 
in the disarmament of militias, and recognized U.S. and 
Emirati assistance to the LAF.  He noted the progress made on 
plans to extend the Common Border Force to the eastern border 
and said that Prime Minister Siniora would seek to ensure 
that Lebanese control of the land border would be a priority 
of his successor. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Williams referred to the Israeli hand-over on May 
12 of cluster munitions technical strike date in fulfillment 
of a long-standing UN request.  He called for Israel to end 
its overflights of Lebanese airspace and to withdraw from 
northern Ghajar, noting that technical discussions with the 
Israeli government had not progressed, through UNIFIL remains 
ready to play its role to facilitate a withdrawal.  He said 
that neither Israel nor Syria have responded to the technical 
definition put forward by the Secretary-General on the 
Sheba'a Farms.  He referred to the "alleged" Israeli spy 
network in Lebanon and the arrest by the Lebanese authorities 
of a significant number of individuals who have been charged 
with espionage.  He said that if espionage is proven, it 
could undermine the fragile cease-fire. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) On the regional environment, he noted the 
establishment of full diplomatic relations between Lebanon 
and Syria with the completion of the exchange of ambassadors 
before the Lebanese elections.  At the end of his remarks, he 
noted the fears that have arisen in Lebanon with Prime 
Minister Netanyahu's insistence on Israel's nature as a 
Jewish state, given the question of Palestinian refugees in 
Lebanon. 
 
DPKO briefing 
------------- 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000676  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) 
Assistant Secretary-General Edmond Mulet briefed on the 
operational aspects of UNIFIL's implementation of UNSCR 1701, 
saying the area of operations (AOR) had remained generally 
quiet and there were no incidents to report since the release 
of the Secretary-General's report.  He said that the Lebanese 
government had confirmed its plans to reinforce the LAF in 
the AOR, now that the elections are over.  He described the 
cluster munitions technical strike data handed over by the 
IDF as "useful" and said that UNIFIL and the LAF are trying 
to identify other strike locations for de-mining.  He 
confirmed that infantry companies from Nepal and Malaysia 
would be deploying in the fall with UNIFIL, and that UNIFIL 
was looking to replace the departing Polish logistics company 
with a multi-role logistics company in October.  He said 
additional assets for the Maritime Task Force are gravely 
needed. 
 
Council members on borders, 
arms, and spies 
--------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Security Council members almost uniformly lauded 
the successful holding of Lebanese parliamentary elections 
and called for the new government to implement UNSCR 1701. 
(Note: Ambassador Wolff delivered U.S. points contained in 
reftel.  End note.)  Mexico called for the delineation of the 
northern and eastern borders.  Libya said that the issue of 
the border between Lebanon and Syria is a matter for the two 
countries but did admit that the lack of control of part of 
the border is a problem.  Russia said that the two states 
should "sort out" their common border issues but, like Libya, 
underlined that border control is the business of those two 
states alone. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) France called for Lebanon to have a monopoly over 
all of its territory and emphasized the need for enforcement 
of the arms embargo and the disarmament of all armed groups. 
Austria, Croatia, Japan, and Costa Rica all urged respect for 
the arms embargo, called for the disarmament of Hizballah, 
and stressed the need for better border management and 
progress on border delineation.  The UK and Austria pledged 
to support the Common Border Force.  Libya said that the 
disarmament of armed groups in Lebanon is a domestic matter, 
and the Council should instead focus on violations of 
Lebanese airspace and territorial waters by Israel; Israel's 
recruitment of spies in Lebanon; and Israel's continued 
hostile declarations against Lebanon. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Many Council members called for the end of Israeli 
overflights that violate Lebanese sovereignty and UNSCR 1701. 
 Several, including Mexico and Japan linked those overflights 
to the non-enforcement of the arms embargo and the re-arming 
of Hizballah as justification for the overflights and urged a 
halt to the trafficking in weapons.  Council members almost 
unanimously called for Israel's withdrawal from northern 
Ghajar.  Many, including Russia, also called for a settlement 
of the Sheba'a Farms issue. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) France said that allegations of an Israeli spy 
network in Lebanon are a negative sign.  Mexico voiced 
concern about the allegations and called for the rule of law 
to be applied.  Japan noted that if the allegations are 
proven true, they would be a violation of UNSCR 1701. 
Vietnam voiced concern about the spying network and that 
Israel had assisted some of the accused in fleeing to Israel 
across the Blue Line, including an LAF colonel recently. 
Libya took issue with how much of the report the 
Secretary-General had focused on arms trafficking in 
comparison with the spying network, when the Lebanese 
government had provided substantial information to the UN on 
the subject and the Israeli authorities had not denied the 
matter.  The Libyan Charge said, "The spies clearly intended 
to destabilize Lebanon and maybe undertake terrorist attacks." 
 
Israeli hand-over of 
technical strike data 
--------------------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Austria, China, Croatia, France, Uganda, and the 
UK welcomed the Israeli hand-over of the cluster munitions 
technical strike data.  Mexico and Japan said it was an 
important step forward to promoting trust between the 
parties.  Libya said the information was not complete. 
Russia called on Israel to hand over all maps, including 
those for mines it left behind in Lebanon.  While the 
Vietnamese Deputy Perm Rep noted Israel's hand-over of the 
technical strike data, he commented on the continuing 
civilian deaths from unexploded ordinance. 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000676  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
Regional issues 
--------------- 
 
¶12.  (SBU) Most Council members welcomed the completion of 
the exchange of ambassadors between Lebanon and Syria. 
Mexico noted the U.S. decision to appoint an ambassador to 
Syria.  Austria called for the new Lebanese government to 
improve the socioeconomic conditions for Palestinian refugees 
and called on Gulf donors to meet their pledges for the 
reconstruction of the Nahr el-Bared Palestinian refugee camp. 
 Costa Rica urged the promotion of tolerance in the 
Palestinian refugee camps so they do not become a breeding 
ground for extremists.  Costa Rica also voiced concern about 
Hizballah's activities towards the Gaza Strip and said they 
must be addressed as Lebanon should not have to suffer the 
consequences. 
 
UNIFIL 
------ 
 
¶13.  (SBU) Almost all Council members congratulated UNIFIL on 
its work maintaining the cessation of hostilities.  The 
French Perm Rep referred to France's significant troop 
contributions to UNIFIL and specifically lauded the LAF's 
improved effectiveness in action, which he noted was 
previously lacking.  Mexico and the UK highlighted the 
importance of the tripartite meetings to the maintenance of 
calm along the Blue Line.  The UK reiterated the 
Secretary-General's language from the report that UNIFIL 
cannot be sustained indefinitely and called for DPKO to 
conduct a strategic review of UNIFIL to see if any 
reconfigurations will achieve greater effectiveness.  Mexico 
called for an investigation to determine which groups were 
responsible for the rocket attacks in January and February. 
A/SYG Mulet noted, in response to an Austrian question, that 
no progress had been made on establishing the UNIFIL office 
in Tel Aviv since, despite Israel's February 2007 agreement, 
the IDF now insists such an office is not needed. 
 
Final UNSCOL thoughts 
--------------------- 
 
¶14.  (SBU) At the end of consultations, Williams said it is 
important to "take stock" of what has been achieved and what 
has been "strikingly unachieved" in the three years since 
UNSCR 1701 was approved.  He highlighted that, in contrast to 
previous periods, no Israeli soldiers or civilians have been 
killed by cross-border action since the conflict ended, nor 
have any Lebanese soldiers or civilians, except by landmines. 
 He responded to Libyan and Russian criticism of the 
technical strike data, saying that the new Israeli government 
had provided it within six weeks of formation and that it is 
significant data which will enable lives to be saved.  He 
also lauded the very regular holding of the trilateral 
meetings without interruption. 
RICE