Written question asked by Emily Thornberry (Labour) on Monday, 29 January 2018, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 31 January 2018. It was answered by Boris Johnson (Conservative) on Tuesday, 6 February 2018 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Lebanon: UN Interim Force in Lebanon

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of UNIFIL's powers under its current mandate to (a) detect and (b) disrupt any illicit arms transfers to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

Answer: The UK commends the work of UNIFIL in maintaining calm and stability in southern Lebanon over the last 11 years. We condemn cases where UNIFIL's mandate has been obstructed. The mission must be allowed to fulfil its mandate. We therefore welcomed UN Security Council Resolution 2373 passed in August 2017 which re-emphasised UNIFIL's right to take all necessary action to resist attempts to prevent it discharging its duties and a requirement to provide detailed reporting of all violations of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

Secondary information