Report of the Secretary-General on the Implementation of Security Council resolution 1559 (2004) (S/2018/480)
Period of the review: 16 October 2017 - 10 May 2018
Prepared by Ijechi Nwaozuzu
MANDATE
Pursuant to Resolution 1701 (2006), the Security Council has ordered: the immediate cessation of hostilities between Israeli and Lebanese forces, including Hizbullah (OP. 1); the extension of control over all Lebanese territories to the Government of Lebanon (OP. 2); increased financial and humanitarian support from the international community, with particular concern for the plight of more than 1 million refugees currently hosted by the state of Lebanon (OP. 6); and further support to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to monitor the situation on the ground, assist Lebanese forces enforcing the Blue Line and ensure humanitarian access (OP. 11-14).
GENERAL ANALYSIS
The report outlines political and security developments in Lebanon between 16 October 2017 - 10 May 2018 in relation to the implementation of Resolution 1559, including ongoing violations of its territorial integrity and the impact of regional conflicts on the country’s stability. In the midst of which, the government successfully held the country’s first parliamentary elections since 2009, albeit with a voter turnout of only 50% (para. 10). The elections saw women represent 14.4% of all running candidates and 4% of the eventual elected candidates (paras. 9-10). In the meantime, Lebanon continued to experience violations of its sovereignty and territorial integrity through shootings from Syrian forces at its border crossings (para. 15) as well as the ongoing occupation of the northern part of Ghajar town and territories along the Blue Line by Israeli forces (para. 16). In response, the Lebanese government committed to strengthening its State security institutions as “the sole defenders of Lebanon’s sovereignty” (para. 22), and updated the capability development plan of the Lebanese Armed Forces and the strategic plan of the Internal Security Forces (para. 24).
Of 57 paragraphs in the report, 2 (3%) included references to WPS-relevant issues, similar to the last report. While these references were mostly made in relation to the importance of women’s participation in politics, the rest of the report was heavily-focused on both reporting and calling for increased militarisation, following the trend from its predecessor reports, as a solution to achieving stability in the country. In particular, the Secretary-General placed much emphasis on improving the national military capabilities of Lebanese armed forces through legislation {para. 24).
GENDER ANALYSIS
Participation
The Secretary-General lauded the Lebanese government’s success in hosting its parliamentary elections in April, on the basis of its June 2017 electoral law. According to the report, of the 597 candidates, 86 (14.4%) were women (para. 9). Consequently, 6 of 128 eventual elected Members of Parliament (4%) were women (para. 10). While this data on women candidates were informative, the report failed to share data on women voters as part of the political process. Further, the Secretary-General failed to discuss remaining social, legal and political challenges to women’s political participation in Lebanon and to inquire UNIFIL on measures that the Mission has taken to support women’s political participation in the country.
Protection
In light of the ongoing humanitarian situation in the country, the Secretary-General expressed concern for the recent cuts in funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the impact on UNRWA’s critical role in delivering essential health, education, relied and social services (para. 40). Lastly, the report shed light on updates to the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan, including requests to increase funding to $2.68 billion, as well as investments in the country’s public infrastructure, services and the local economy (para. 12). In spite of all these developments, the report failed to address the importance of gender-sensitive humanitarian services beyond basic food and health aid, including reproductive or psychosocial healthcare. It also failed to share any gender-disaggregated data to reflect the different needs of marginalised or vulnerable groups, including refugees and IDPs. In particular, there was no mention of gender budgeting or specific challenges faced by female refugees and IDPs which include forced early marriages, sexual violence, lack of access to resources.
Prevention
The Secretary-General noted that there has been no tangible progress towards the disbanding and disarming of Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias, in line with the Taif Accords (para. 29). This is particularly concerning in light of his acknowledgment that several groups across the political spectrum in Lebanon possess weapons outside the government’s control, and where Hizbullah, in spite of being a political party, maintains the most heavily armed militia in the country that has no accountability to national democratic, governmental institutions (para. 28). However, in spite of this acknowledgment, the Secretary-General proposed as an ironic solution, that the Lebanese government increase its efforts to achieve a monopoly on the possession of weapons and the use of force throughout its territory (para. 27). Further, he failed to address the gendered dimensions of arms proliferation on Lebanese territory, which leaves women and girls disproportionately affected by conflict. In this regard, he failed to discuss measures to improve the 1989 Taif agreement which called for eradicating the sale or supply of arms-related materials to Lebanon ‘except when authorised by the government’ (para. 24). As WILPF’s prior analysis has shown, militarism is not the only response to security and increased military spending would simply exacerbate the conflict in Lebanon by diverting resources away from economic development, peacebuilding and reconstruction.
Implementation
The report’s focus on greater militarisation to resolve territorial transgressions and political instability runs contrary to the Secretary-General’s call to focus efforts on tackling the root causes of conflict in peacebuilding and peace processes. More importantly, it omits the Council’s commitment to implementing the women, peace and security agenda as a cross-cutting issue. In so doing, it has failed to discuss key components of ensuring sustainable peace in Lebanon, including the need to ensure access to justice for women human rights defenders, survivors of SGBV, refugees and other marginalised groups. Similarly, the report has also done nothing to address structural discrimination, gender inequality and exclusion as key drivers of the conflict in Lebanon.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Participation
The Secretary-General should call for the meaningful inclusion of civil society and women’s groups at all decision-making levels. The inclusion of these groups can provide inroads for the increased participation and election of women in future elections. Civil society and women’s groups should also be consulted in Lebanon’s disarmament efforts as well as gender-sensitive needs assessment in the coordination of humanitarian services. In the interim, temporary special measures can be developed and implemented to increase women’s participation at decision-making levels. Future reports should also shed light on continuing social, political and legal challenges faced by women candidates and political activists. Lastly, predictable and flexible funding should be ensured for women’s groups and civil society to facilitate their meaningful participation in both political and peace processes in the first place. The Secretary-General should request for UNIFIL to support for capacity-building and funding for civil societies, as improvements to its mandate, in future mandate-renewal discussions.
Protection
Future reports should include gender-disaggregated data on humanitarian challenges and services, so as to enable the Council and international community to better understand the gender dimensions of the conflict. The Secretary-General should also call for the inclusion of women protection advisors are included in all peace operations and supported by hybrid gender expertise in technical or peacekeeping units of the Mission, as an improvement to UNIFIL’s mandate should it be extended. He should also call for UNIFIL to strengthen its engagement with women peace activists, human rights defenders and women-led civil society for effective grassroots conflict analysis and response so as to better understand the needs of different communities affected by conflict. Lastly, apart from basic food and health aid, assistance should also focus on improving access to cross-border protection through humanitarian visas, increased refugee resettlements, greater access to fair hearings psychosocial services and mom-discriminatory medical services. This aid should be provided in line with IHL and not subject to any donor restrictions to ensure comprehensive medical care, including safe abortion.
Prevention
The Secretary-General should align his militarisation-focused recommendations for the Lebanese government with his calls to focus on conflict prevention. To achieve this, future reports should discuss the disproportionate and gendered impact of arms proliferation in the country. He should also call on UNIFIL to support the Lebanese disarmament programme under Resolution 1559 and the Taif accords by providing gender analysis on the impact of weapons, including the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, small arms and light weapons on women. In this regard, the Secretary-General should also call on other Member States to uphold their obligations under Resolution 1701 (2006) to prevent the sale or supply of arms to entities or individuals in Lebanon beyond the control of the State. Similarly, he should call upon UNIFIL to support the withdrawal of Israeli forces from northern Ghajar without further delay in coordination with the Lebanese government, as per its mandate. It is also crucial that women be engaged in preventing the emergence, spread and re-emergence of conflict through participation in disarmament and stabilisation efforts. Providing broader training programs for women’s participation in disarmament and stabilisation efforts is essential to shift power and support real and sustained change within the community.
Implementation
Future reports should detail Lebanon’s efforts to develop and modernise its political and security institutions in line with not only Resolution 1559 and the Taif Accords but its other international obligations, including through curbing the flows of small arms by ratifying the Arms Trade Treaty and implementing it through enforced national laws and regulations. The Secretary-General should also inquire the Lebanese government on its pledged commitment to financially and technically support the implementation of its strategic plan for the Internal Security Forces. In doing so, the Secretary-General should encourage the Lebanese government to fundamentally reframe security away from militarised approaches to one based on human rights, sustainable development, and equality. Lastly, it is essential that Lebanon adopt a National Action Plan (NAP) on Resolution 1325 (2000), in conjunction with civil societies which have long worked on a draft plan, and as a complement to the National Strategy Plan for Women in Lebanon, to tackle gaps that remain in women’s rights in the country as well as its larger peace process.