Tripartite Meeting discusses dooperation as confidence-building measure

22 Sep 2016

Tripartite Meeting discusses dooperation as confidence-building measure

The Head of Mission and Force Commander of UNIFIL, Major-General Michael Beary, today chaired a regular tripartite meeting with senior officials from the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) at the UN position at Ras Al Naqoura.

Today’s discussions focused on issues related to the implementation of UNIFIL’s mandate under UN Security Council resolution 1701 (2006), air and ground violations, situation along the Blue Line and its ongoing visible marking as a key confidence building and de-confliction measure, as well as the issue of withdrawal of Israeli forces from northern Ghajar.

In his remarks, Major-General Beary stressed the importance of the parties furthering cooperation with UNIFIL “in order to ensure that the calm will continue to define the situation in South Lebanon and along the Blue Line.” In particular, he called on the parties to ensure that the upcoming olive harvesting season does not cause a rise in tension.

“While we all recognize there are issues that cannot be resolved at the tripartite table, we also recognize that there are many issues that can be,” the UNIFIL head told the LAF and IDF delegations. “Our liaison and coordination mechanism is one of our most remarkable achievements and I thank both parties for your continued support to UNIFIL in this regard.”

Tripartite meetings have been held regularly under the auspices of UNIFIL since the end of the 2006 war. They have become an essential conflict management and confidence-building mechanism between the parties.

In one of its meeting last month, the UN Security Council welcomed the constructive role played by the tripartite forum in facilitating coordination and in de-escalating tensions, which has helped to further stabilize the situation along the Blue Line and build trust between the parties.