- 03 April 2024
<p style="text-align:start; margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:15.4px"><span style="font-family:Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="color:#212121"><span style="font-style:normal"><span style="font-weight:400"><span style="white-space:normal"><span style="text-decoration:none"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="line-height:16.799999px">When the 2006 war ended and the Security Council enhanced UNIFIL’s mandate with resolution 1701, there was a clear need for </span></span><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="line-height:16.799999px">a bridge between Lebanon and Israel,</span></span><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="line-height:16.799999px"> since <span style="color:#333333">they do not talk to each other directly.</span><b> </b><span style="color:#333333">On 11 December of that year, in a Tripartite meeting, a Liaison and Coordination Arrangement was agreed by UNIFIL, the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Israel Defense Forces. Since then, UNIFIL has acted as a mediator between the two sides,</span> and UNIFIL’s Liaison Branch became part of this mechanism. </span></span><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="line-height:16.799999px">Lieutenant General Aroldo Lázaro</span></span><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="line-height:16.799999px">, UNIFIL’s Head of Mission and Force Commander,<span style="color:#333333"> acts as an interlocutor himself and guides the mission’s overall liaison efforts.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>