AMN / GENEVA
Janine Blaaschardt, United Nations Special Coordinator, and Major General Aroldo Lázaro, Head of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), said, in a joint statement today, that a negotiated solution is the only path to restore the security and stability sought by civilians in southern Lebanon and Israel, emphasising that “the time to act accordingly is now.
The statement highlighted that, one year after the exchange of fire across the Blue Line, numerous people have lost their lives, many have been displaced, and repeated calls for restraint, the protection of civilians, adherence to international humanitarian law, and a return to a cessation of hostilities have gone unheeded.
The UN officials stressed that each bomb dropped and each ground raid conducted moves both parties further from the vision set forth in UN Security Council Resolution 1701 of 2006, as well as from the conditions needed to ensure the lasting security of civilians on both sides of the Blue Line.
The statement underscored that more violence and destruction will not resolve the underlying issues, nor will it make anyone safer in the long term.
One year since near-daily exchanges of fire commenced across the Blue Line, initiated by Hizbullah propelling rockets into Shab‘a Farms, in violation of the cessation of hostilities and Security Council resolution 1701 (2006). One year in which far too many lives have been lost, uprooted, and devastated, while civilians on both sides of the Blue Line are left wanting for security and stability. One year in which our repeated appeals for restraint, the protection of civilians and adherence to international humanitarian law, a return to the cessation of hostilities, and a political process anchored in the implementation of 1701 have gone unheeded.
Today, one year later, the near-daily exchanges of fire have escalated into a relentless military campaign whose humanitarian impact is nothing short of catastrophic. With constant Israeli bombardment now part and parcel of daily life in Lebanon, and Hizbullah launching rocket and missile barrages at Israel, far too many people are paying an unimaginable price – with many killed, many more wounded, and hundreds of thousands displaced.
To state the obvious: every missile or rocket launched, bomb dropped, and ground raid conducted pulls the parties further away from the vision set forth in resolution 1701 (2006), as well as from the conditions necessary for the enduring security of civilians on both sides of the Blue Line. What is also clear is that further violence and destruction will neither solve the underlying issues nor make anyone safer in the long run. Quite the opposite. A negotiated solution is the only pathway to restore the security and stability that civilians on both sides so desperately want and deserve. The time to act accordingly is now.