Lebanon: Gen. portraying meets key actors to support UNIFIL

29/05/15

In the framework of the activities aimed at favoring the achievement of the objectives contained in the 1701 Resolution, the meeting between division General Luciano Portolano (head of mission and UNIFIL forces commander) and 5 ambassadors permanent member countries was held yesterday in Beirut. of the Security Council, those of the countries contributing peacekeepers to the UN mission in South Lebanon, together with the special UN coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL) and the ambassador of the European Union in Beirut.

The occasion was particularly important and fruitful as well as to make a point of situation on the geopolitical context of the Middle Eastern chessboard, in particular the Syrian question and the reflections on Lebanon especially in the South, to signify the state of the UNIFIL Mission which moves in the delicate "peacekeeping" bed under the precise and well-traced 1701 resolution based on chapter VI of the United Nations Charter.

In summary, it was focal to remember how the search for the implementation of the resolution passes through the constant impulse and support of the dialogue between the parts that takes place, in addition to the bilateral meetings, through the peculiar instrument of the tripartite table. Furthermore, through the joint efforts of the Blue Helmets and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) in the area of terrestrial and maritime operations associated with the progress of the Strategic Dialogue, a vehicle of aid and assistance coherent with the wider mechanism of the International Support Group ( ISG).

In particular, General Portolano highlighted the activities carried out in the last 10 months under his command by the over 11.000 peacekeepers within a constantly evolving operating context that requires "flexibility and adaptability". In this way UNIFIL operates whose area of operations, despite the strong regional instability, continues to remain "stable", he added, noting however that this result is not the result of chance but of a holistic and integrated approach by the Mission, capable of to systematize the different realities and dimensions among which military, civil and diplomatic stand out. A joint dedication between various actors, first and foremost the same contributing countries with the competition in various capacities, the LAFs, the local and religious authorities, without whose support everything would be difficult to achieve.

General Portolano concluded the event by thanking the Ambassadors agreed for their strong support and especially those of contributing nations because they are convinced that they can rely on their respective contingents as real and credible messengers of peace.