EU’s Lebanon action gathers pace

The Finnish EU Presidency convened an extraordinary meeting of EU Foreign Ministers, which took take place in Brussels on the afternoon of Friday, 25 August 2006. The purpose of the meeting was to focus on EU Member States' contributions to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the conditions needed to make the operation a success. The meeting was chaired by Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, attended.

Originally, UNIFIL was created by the Security Council in 1978 to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, restore international peace and security and assist the Lebanese Government in restoring its effective authority in the area. Following the July/August 2006 crisis, the Council decided that in addition to the original mandate, UNIFIL would, among other things, monitor the cessation of hostilities; accompany and support the Lebanese armed forces as they deploy throughout the south of Lebanon; and extend its assistance to help ensure humanitarian access to civilian populations and the voluntary and safe return of displaced persons.

Finland: EU Presidency: Press Release, 22.8.06: Extraordinary meeting of EU Foreign Ministers on 25 August http://formin.finland.fi/Public/default.aspx?contentid=78040&nodeid=32278&contentlan=2&culture=en-US

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unifil/

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