86 MPs urge Security Council to renew, strengthen UNIFIL mandate
Eighty-six Lebanese lawmakers on Monday signed a letter to UN Security Council members urging the renewal and strengthening of UNIFIL’s mandate in southern Lebanon.
Read by MP Melhem Khalaf, the letter said ending the peacekeeping mission would disregard the legal and historical grounds for its establishment under Resolutions 425 and 426 in 1978, as well as its expanded role under Resolution 1701.
The MPs argued that UNIFIL’s core objectives, including confirming Israel’s withdrawal, restoring international peace and security, and helping the Lebanese state extend its authority, remain unmet and increasingly urgent amid continued attacks and the absence of an effective ceasefire.
They warned that withdrawing the force under current conditions would amount to abandoning an unfinished international responsibility and could undermine the credibility of the UN system. The letter concluded that maintaining UNIFIL is not merely a political choice, but a legal necessity.
