At the end of August, the future of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), established nearly 50 years ago, goes on trial in New York, where the Security Council will debate the renewal of its mandate. Nearly two decades after its transformation under UN Security Council Resolution 1701, UNIFIL is now part of the problem it was created to solve. Ten thousand blue helmets from almost 50 countries, including major North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members, failed to stop the latest conflict between Israel and Hizballah, and, if business continues as usual, will fail to prevent the next. In the Security Council, the debate has fallen into a familiar pattern: tweak UNIFIL’s mandate and resources or scale back a mission seen as inherently ineffective. This framing misses the core problem: UNIFIL’s unwillingness, as opposed to inability, to take on the risks its mandate requires.
UNIFIL should reset or go home (Fadi Nicholas Nassar, Saleh El Machnouk – Middle East Institute)
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