Resolution 1461
(January 30, 2003)
The Security Council,
Recalling all its previous resolutions on Lebanon,
in particular resolutions 425 (1978) and 426 (1978) of 19 March 1978
and 1428 (2002) of 30 July 2002 as well as the statements of its President
on the situation in Lebanon, in particular the statement of 18 June
2000 (S/PRST/2000/21),
Recalling further the letter from its President
to the Secretary-General of 18 May 2001 (S/2001/500),
Recalling also the Secretary-General's conclusion
that, as of 16 June 2000, Israel had withdrawn its forces from Lebanon
in accordance with resolution 425 (1978) and met the requirements defined
in the Secretary-General's report of 22 May 2000 (S/2000/460), as well
as the Secretary-General's conclusion that the United Nations Interim
Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) had essentially completed two of the three
parts of its mandate, focusing now on the remaining task of restoring
international peace and security,
Emphasizing the interim nature of UNIFIL,
Recalling its resolution 1308 (2000) of 17
July 2000,
Recalling also its resolution 1325 (2000) of
31 October 2000,
Recalling further the relevant principles contained
in the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel
adopted on 9 December 1994,
Responding to the request of the Government
of Lebanon, as stated in the letter from its Permanent Representative
to the United Nations of 9 January 2003 to the Secretary-General (S/2003/36),
1. Endorses the report of the Secretary-General
on UNIFIL of 14 January 2003 (S/2003/38), and in particular its recommendation
to renew the mandate of UNIFIL for a further period of six months;
2. Decides to extend the present mandate until
31 July 2003;
3. Takes note of the completion of the reconfiguration
of UNIFIL as outlined in paragraph 26 of the Secretary-General's report
(S/2003/38) and in accordance with the letter of the President of the
Security Council of 18 May 2001 (S/2001/500);
4. Reiterates its strong support for the territorial
integrity, sovereignty and political independence of Lebanon within
its internationally recognized boundaries;
5. Commends the Government of Lebanon for taking
steps to ensure the return of its effective authority throughout the
south, including the deployment of Lebanese armed forces, and calls
on it to continue to extend these measures and to do its utmost to ensure
a calm environment throughout the south;
6. Calls on the parties to ensure UNIFIL is
accorded full freedom of movement in the discharge of its mandate throughout
its area of operation as outlined in the Secretary-General's report;
7. Reiterates its call on the parties to continue
to fulfil the commitments they have given to respect fully the withdrawal
line identified by the United Nations, as set out in the Secretary-General's
report of 16 June 2000 (S/2000/590), to exercise utmost restraint and
to cooperate fully with the United Nations and UNIFIL;
8. Condemns all acts of violence, expresses
great concern about the serious breaches and the air, sea and land violations
of the withdrawal line, and urges the parties to put an end to these
violations and to abide scrupulously by their obligation to respect
the safety of UNIFIL and other United Nations personnel;
9. Supports the continued efforts of UNIFIL
to maintain the ceasefire along the withdrawal line through mobile patrols
and observation from fixed positions and through close contacts with
the parties to correct violations, resolve incidents and prevent their
escalation;
10. Welcomes the continued contribution of
UNIFIL to operational demining, encourages further assistance in mine
action by the United Nations to the Government of Lebanon in support
of both the continued development of its national mine action capacity
and emergency demining activities in the south, commends donor countries
for supporting these efforts through financial and in-kind contributions
and encourages further international contributions, takes note of the
communication to the Government of Lebanon and UNIFIL of maps and information
on the location of mines and stresses the necessity to provide the Government
of Lebanon and UNIFIL with any additional maps and records on the location
of mines;
11. Requests the Secretary-General to continue
consultations with the Government of Lebanon and other parties directly
concerned on the implementation of this resolution and to report thereon
to the Council before the end of the present mandate as well as on the
activities of UNIFIL and the tasks presently carried out by the United
Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO);
12. Looks forward to the early fulfilment of
the mandate of UNIFIL;
13. Stresses the importance of, and the need
to achieve, a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East,
based on all its relevant resolutions including its resolution 242 (1967)
of 22 November 1967 and 338 (1973) of 22 October 1973.
Sources: The United Nations |