The United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) is an organization founded on 29 May 1948 for peacekeeping in the Middle East. Established amidst the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, its primary task was initially to provide the military command structure to the peacekeeping forces in the Middle East to enable the peacekeepers to observe and maintain the ceasefire, and in assisting the parties to the Armistice Agreements in the supervision of the application and observance of the terms of those Agreements. The organization's structure and role has evolved over time as a result of the various conflicts in the region and at times UNTSO personnel have been used to rapidly deploy to other areas of the Middle East in support of other United Nations operations. The command structure of the UNTSO was maintained to cover the later peacekeeping organisations of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to which UNTSO continues to provide military observers.
The 1982 Lebanon War began on 6 June 1982, when the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) invaded southern Lebanon. The invasion followed a series of attacks and counter-attacks between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) operating in southern Lebanon and the IDF that had caused civilian casualties on both sides of the border. The military operation was launched after gunmen from the Abu Nidal Organization attempted to assassinate Shlomo Argov, Israel's ambassador to the United Kingdom. Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin blamed Abu Nidal's enemy, the PLO, for the incident, and used the incident as a casus belli for the invasion.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 425, adopted on 19 March 1978, five days after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in the context of Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon and the Lebanese Civil War, called on Israel to withdraw immediately its forces from Lebanon and established the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL). It was adopted by 12 votes to none; Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union abstained, and China did not participate.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, is a UN peacekeeping mission established on 19 March 1978 by United Nations Security Council Resolutions 425 and 426, to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon which Israel had invaded five days prior, in order to ensure that the government of Lebanon would restore its effective authority in the area. The 1978 South Lebanon conflict came in the context of Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon and the Lebanese Civil War.
The 1978 South Lebanon conflict began after Israel invaded southern Lebanon up to the Litani River in March 1978, in response to the Coastal Road massacre near Tel Aviv by Lebanon-based Palestinian militants. The conflict resulted in the deaths of 1,100–2,000 Lebanese and Palestinians, 20 Israelis, and the internal displacement of 100,000 to 250,000 people in Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces gained a military victory against the Palestine Liberation Organization as the latter was forced to withdraw from southern Lebanon, preventing it from launching attacks on Israel from across its land border with Lebanon. In response to the outbreak of hostilities, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 425 and Resolution 426 on 19 March 1978, which called on Israel to immediately withdraw its troops from Lebanon and established the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
United Nations Security Council resolution 1583, adopted unanimously on 28 January 2005, after recalling previous resolutions on Israel and Lebanon, including resolutions 425 (1978), 426 (1978) and 1553 (2004), the council extended the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for a further six months until 31 July 2005 and condemned violence along the Blue Line.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 is a resolution that was intended to resolve the 2006 Lebanon War.
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.
United Nations Security Council resolution 520, adopted unanimously on 17 September 1982, after the assassination of Lebanese President Bashir Gemayel and reaffirming resolutions 508 (1982), 509 (1982) and 516 (1982), the Council demanded that Israel withdraw immediately from Lebanon, and that Lebanese sovereignty be respected in order to restore a stable government in Lebanon.
United Nations Security Council resolution 819, adopted unanimously on 16 April 1993, after reaffirming resolutions 713 (1991) and all (1992) subsequent resolutions, the Council expressed concern at the actions of Bosnian Serb paramilitary units in towns and villages in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, including attacks on civilians, the United Nations Protection Force and disruption to humanitarian aid convoys. The resolution marked the UN's first civilian "safe area" being declared; it failed to prevent the Srebrenica massacre.
United Nations Security Council resolution 515, adopted on 29 July 1982, after recalling resolutions 512 (1982), 513 (1982) and the Geneva Conventions, the Council demanded that Israel lift the blockade on Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon, to allow urgent aid to the civilian population there. It also requested the Secretary-General to transmit the text of the resolution to the Government of Israel and to monitor the implementation of Resolution 515.
United Nations Security Council resolution 516, adopted on 1 August 1982, after recalling resolutions 508 (1982), 509 (1982), 512 (1982), 513 (1982) and 515 (1982), the council demanded an immediate cessation of military activities between Israel and Lebanon, noting the violations of the ceasefire in Beirut.
United Nations Security Council resolution 849, adopted unanimously on 9 July 1993, after noting with concern the recent fighting around Sukhumi in the disputed region of Abkhazia, the Council requested the Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to send his Special Envoy to the region in order to reach agreement for a ceasefire between Abkhazia and Georgia, and once implemented, authorised a dispatch of 50 military observers. It was the first Security Council resolution on the conflict.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1365, adopted unanimously on 31 July 2001, after recalling previous resolutions on Israel and Lebanon, including resolutions 425 (1978), 426 (1978), 1310 (2000) and 1337 (2001), the Council decided to extend the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for a further six months until 31 January 2002.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1391, adopted unanimously on 28 January 2002, after recalling previous resolutions on Israel and Lebanon, including resolutions 425 (1978), 426 (1978), 1310 (2000), 1337 (2001) and 1365 (2001), the Council decided to extend the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for a further six months until 31 July 2002.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1428, adopted unanimously on 30 July 2002, after recalling previous resolutions on Israel and Lebanon, including resolutions 425 (1978), 426 (1978), 1310 (2000), 1337 (2001), 1365 (2001) and 1391 (2002), the Council decided to extend the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for a further six months until 31 January 2003.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1525, adopted unanimously on 30 January 2004, after recalling previous resolutions on Israel and Lebanon, including resolutions 425 (1978), 426 (1978) and 1496 (2003), the council extended the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for a further six months until 31 July 2004.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1655, adopted unanimously on January 31, 2006, after recalling previous resolutions on Israel and Lebanon, including resolutions 425 (1978), 426 (1978) and 1614 (2005), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for a further six months until July 31, 2006.
