| UN Security Council Resolution 1757 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | 30 May 2007 | |
| Meeting no. | 5,685 | |
| Code | S/RES/1757 (Document) | |
| Subject | The situation in the Middle East | |
Voting summary |
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| Result | Adopted | |
| Security Council composition | ||
Permanent members | ||
Non-permanent members | ||
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United Nations Security Council Resolution 1757 was adopted on 30 May 2007.
The United Nations Security Council today authorized the formation of an international tribunal to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, although some members warned that the move could have serious political repercussions because the council was exceeding its authority and interfering in Lebanese affairs.
By a vote of 10 in favour to none against, with 5 abstentions (China, Indonesia, Qatar, Russian Federation and South Africa), the Security Council, acting under Chapter VII of the Charter, adopted resolution 1757 (2007) authorizing the creation of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. It gives the Lebanese Government until 10 June “to notify the United Nations in writing that the legal requirements for entry into force have been complied with”, thus allowing Lebanese factions 10 days to reach an agreement internally before it goes into effect.
The requirements agreed between the world body and Lebanon last November are attached to the resolution, along with the Tribunal's 30-article founding statute. The measure responds to a request from Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, but the country's Parliament has not approved the plan because speaker Nabih Berri has not convened the chamber.
Mindful of the Lebanese people's demand that all those responsible for the 14 February 2005 terrorist bombing that killed the former Lebanese Premier and 22 others be identified and brought to justice, the council also requested Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, coordinating with, when appropriate, the Lebanese Government, to take the steps and measures necessary to establish the Tribunal “in a timely manner” and to report to the Council within 90 days on the implementation of the resolution. The site of the tribunal would be decided in consultations with Beirut and the country that would host it. Expenses for the tribunal would be borne by United Nations Member States, unless Lebanon could take that responsibility. [1]
Rafic Bahaa El Deen Al Hariri was a Lebanese business tycoon and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2000 until his resignation on 20 October 2004.
The Cedar Revolution or Independence Uprising was a chain of demonstrations in Lebanon triggered by the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri. The popular movement was remarkable for its avoidance of violence, peaceful approach, and its total reliance on methods of civil resistance.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1680, adopted on May 17, 2006, after recalling previous resolutions on Lebanon, including 425 (1978), 426 (1978), 520 (1982), 1559 (2004) and 1655 (2005), the Council strongly encouraged Syria to respond positively to Lebanon's request to delineate borders and establish diplomatic relations, with the purpose of asserting Lebanon's sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence.
The 2006–2008 Lebanese protests were a series of political protests and sit-ins in Lebanon that began on 1 December 2006, led by groups that opposed the US and Saudi-backed government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and ended on 21 May 2008 with the signing of the Doha Agreement. The opposition was made up of Hezbollah, Amal, and the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM); a number of smaller parties were also involved, including the Marada party, the Lebanese Communist Party and the Syrian Social Nationalist Party. A majority of the members of the government were part of the anti-Syrian March 14 Alliance, a coalition of political parties and independents in Lebanon. The two groups were also divided along religious lines, with most Sunnis and Druze supporting the government, and most Shi'a supporting the opposition. The Christian community was split between the two factions, with Michel Aoun, the leader of the FPM, claiming to have more than 70% support among the Christians, based on the results of the 2005 parliamentary election.
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), also referred to as the Lebanon Tribunal or the Hariri Tribunal, is a tribunal of international character applying Lebanese criminal law to carry out the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for 14 February 2005 assassination of Rafic Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister, and the deaths of 21 others, as well as those responsible for connected attacks.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1636, adopted unanimously on 31 October 2005, after recalling resolutions 1373 (2001), 1566 (2004) and 1595 (2005), the council insisted that the Syrian authorities fully co-operate with the inquiry of the United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC) into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, not least by arresting the suspects identified by the commission in its final report.
Walid Eido was a member of the Current for the Future, Lebanese political movement and a member of the Lebanese Parliament. He was also a member of the March 14 Coalition.
The United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission or UNIIIC was established on 7 April 2005 by Security Council Resolution 1595 to investigate the assassination of former Prime Minister of Lebanon, Rafic Hariri, who had been killed in Beirut on 14 February 2005.
On 14 February 2005, former Prime Minister of Lebanon Rafic Hariri was killed along with 21 others in an explosion in Beirut, Lebanon. Explosives equivalent to around 1,000 kilograms of TNT were detonated as his motorcade drove near the St. George Hotel. Among the dead were several of Hariri's bodyguards and former Minister of the Economy, Bassel Fleihan.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1595, adopted unanimously on 7 April 2005, after recalling its support for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Lebanon, the council established a commission to assist Lebanese authorities in their investigation of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri in Beirut on 14 February 2005.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1644, adopted unanimously on 15 December 2005, after recalling resolutions 1373 (2005), 1566 (2004), 1595 (2005) and 1636 (2005), the Council demanded that Syria respond to the inquiry of the United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC) into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, and extended the investigation until 15 June 2006.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1664 was adopted unanimously on March 29, 2006; after recalling resolutions 1595 (2005), 1636 (2005) and 1644 (2005), the Council requested the Secretary-General Kofi Annan to consult with the Lebanese government concerning the establishment of an international tribunal to try those responsible for the assassination of Prime Minister Rafic Hariri and 22 others in February 2005.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1686, adopted unanimously on June 15, 2006, after recalling previous resolutions concerning Lebanon and the region, including 1373 (2001), 1566 (2004), 1595 (2005), 1636 (2005), 1644 (2005) and 1664 (2006), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC) investigating the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri for one year.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1748 was unanimously adopted on 27 March 2007.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1786 was unanimously adopted on 28 November 2007.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1815 was unanimously adopted on 2 June 2008.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1852 was unanimously adopted on 17 December 2008.
Ali Al Hajj is the former major general and director of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces.
The assassination of Mohamad Chatah occurred on 27 December 2013 when a car bomb targeting a convoy detonated in Beirut Central District killing Chatah, his bodyguard, and four others. Chatah had previously served as Lebanon's finance minister and ambassador to the United States and was known as a leading critic of Hezbollah and the Assad regime among the country's political elite. Described as a political assassination, the killing was widely seen as a message to Lebanon's March 14 movement.
The following lists events that happened in 2007 in Lebanon.
