US LEGAL EXPERT APPOINTED AS REGISTRAR OF UN-BACKED TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON KILLINGS

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed David Tolbert of the United States as the Registrar of the United Nations-backed tribunal set up to try the perpetrators of recent political killings in Lebanon, including the February 2005 murder of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.

Mr. Tolbert will succeed Robin Vincent at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, an independent body based in The Hague, Netherlands.

"The Secretary-General is grateful for Mr. Vincent's assistance in the establishment and commencement of the Tribunal's work," UN spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters.

Mr. Tolbert, who will take up his duties on 26 August, has served in a number of senior capacities with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), which is responsible for trying those responsible for the worst crimes committed during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s.

He also served as the Secretary-General's Special Expert on UN Assistance to the Khmer Rouge Trials.

The President of the Tribunal, which began its operations in early March, is Antonio Cassese of Italy. Daniel Bellemare, a Canadian prosecutor and former head of the International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC) into the murders, serves as the court's Prosecutor.
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MORE PROGRESS NEEDED ON KEY ISSUES BETWEEN LEBANON AND NEIGHBOURS – UN ENVOY

The formation of new Governments in Lebanon and Israel bodes well for the implementation of the Security Council resolution that helped to end their 2006 war, a senior United Nations envoy said today, while lamenting the lack of progress on several key outstanding issues.

"Unfortunately, there remain many areas of 1701 where there has been little progress," Michael Williams, the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, told reporters after briefing the Council on the Secretary-General's latest report on the resolution's implementation.

Resolution 1701 called for, among other matters, renewed respect for the Blue Line separating the Lebanese forces and Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), the disarming of militias and an end to arms smuggling.

Mr. Williams noted that, despite repeated criticism by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Israeli air violations of the Blue Line continue "unabated and on a daily basis."

In addition, no date has been set for a withdrawal of the IDF from the northern part of the village of Ghajar, as required under resolution 1701.

As noted by Mr. Ban in his report, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) submitted a proposal one year ago to facilitate the full withdrawal of the IDF. The Lebanese Government said last August that it was ready to accept the proposal. While Israeli officials reaffirmed their commitment to resolving the issue, they said they were not in a position to provide a definitive response since the new Government was undertaking a comprehensive policy review.

The Special Coordinator said the issue of Israel's withdrawal from Ghajar is going to be one of the main areas of work in the coming months. "We believe now with a new Government in Israel, the formation of a new Government in Lebanon, the hard work of UNIFIL, that the atmosphere may be more propitious to a settlement."

He added that he believed the Ghajar issue "is far more achievable in the short run" than that of the Shab'a Farms area, which Lebanon and Syria have yet to resolve. The establishment of full diplomatic relations between the two neighbours over the past year, he noted, provides a "sound basis" on which to tackle their border issues.

"We believe that with the successful implementation of diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Syria, and other positive developments in the relations between the two countries… that the next step to be taken will be the delineation of the common border between the two countries."

Mr. Williams said a "deeply disturbing" development in recent months was the uncovering of alleged Israeli spy networks in many parts of Lebanon.

"If these allegations are confirmed in court, this would constitute a very serious violation of Lebanon's sovereignty and, consequently, undermine relevant Security Council resolutions," he stated.

As for allegations that UNIFIL was facilitating the passage of individuals involved in the spy rings across the Blue Line, Mr. Williams described them as "without foundation."

Despite these developments, he said he believed that, "three years after the 2006 war, with the renewal of a democratic mandate for the new Government of Lebanon that Prime Minister Saad Hariri is trying to form, there is a sound basis in the coming months for proceeding with the further implementation of 1701."
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Lebanon: A Year Later, No Accountability for Killings

(Beirut) - One year after the outbreak of fighting between opposition and pro-government groups that left at least 110 people dead, Lebanese authorities have yet to make public the results of their investigations into the killings of civilians, Human Rights Watch said today. So far, the judiciary has issued only one indictment against an individual who shot at civilians, while other investigations have stalled, with no prosecutions to date.

The fighting began in Beirut on May 7, 2008, killing at least 71 people in the first two weeks, including at least 14 civilians. Fighters on both sides attacked civilians and civilian property. While the groups signed a political settlement in Doha on May 21, they failed to address abuses committed during the fighting. Sporadic clashes continued for another three months in the Beka` and the north, killing another 40 people, including civilians.

"Lebanon's past conflicts make it clear that agreements to stop fighting will not last if they sweep punishment for attacks on civilians under the rug," said Nadim Houry, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The only way to break this cycle is for the Lebanese people to hold those responsible accountable."

During the fighting, Human Rights Watch visited areas where civilians were killed and often saw Lebanese police and military conducting their own investigations. However, in almost all cases, the investigations have stalled, and the judiciary has taken no further steps. The lawyer for the family of one of the victims killed in Beirut told Human Rights Watch: "The investigation disappeared. Every time we asked where the investigation stood, they say they did not know where the file was. The truth is that they don't want to find out."

Another lawyer, Elie Ghassan, who represents the Syrian Socialist Nationalist Party, members of which died in the northern town of Halba after being beaten and ill-treated by gunmen, expressed similar frustration. He told Human Rights Watch: "We gave the prosecutor videotapes showing those who killed our members. We even gave them the names of those who appear in the film. Yet, nothing has happened. The file is frozen."

"With the evidence that serious crimes took place last year, it is difficult to understand why the investigations are not leading to anything," Houry said. "The Lebanese authorities should come clean and explain where the investigations stand."

Human Rights Watch has been able to find evidence of only one indictment so far in connection with the violence in May 2008. In September, the First Investigative Judge in Beirut, Abdel Rahim Hammud, issued an indictment against an individual accused of killing two civilians and wounding six others after an altercation broke out during a funeral procession in Tarik al-Jdideh, Beirut on May 10. In other incidents, the police and army detained other individuals on suspicion of possessing weapons and explosives, but released many of them shortly thereafter.

LITTLE PROGRESS TOWARDS LASTING PEACE BETWEEN ISRAEL, LEBANON, SAYS UN OFFICIAL

LITTLE PROGRESS TOWARDS LASTING PEACE BETWEEN ISRAEL, LEBANON, SAYS UN OFFICIAL
New York, Mar 10 2009 7:00PM

Although the ceasefire is still in place, very little progress has been made on the Security Council resolution which helped end fighting between the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and the armed group Hizbollah two years ago, the top United Nations representative to Lebanon said today.

"The past months have witnessed the most serious violations by both parties of their obligations under [resolution] 1701 since it was adopted [in August 2006], but despite these violations the cessation of hostilities continues to hold," Michael Williams, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, told reporters in New York after briefing the Council.

He highlighted the continued cessation of hostilities, the longest period of stability that southern Lebanon and northern Israel have known in decades, and the healthy internal political situation in Lebanon in the run up to general elections in June as positive signs for long-term peace between the countries.

In addition, he pointed to the establishment of diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Syria and moves towards reconciliation in the wider Arab world as having an "enormously positive effect on the ground" in Lebanon.

"The long-standing issue of prisoners and captives held by Hizbollah and Israel was, as you know, resolved last year," he added.

"However, there also many other issues within 1701 where very little progress has been achieved," Mr. Williams said.

The 2006 resolution called for renewed respect for the Blue Line separating the Lebanese forces and IDF, the disarming of militias and an end to arms smuggling, among other measures.

The Special Coordinator noted that although the process of national dialogue in Lebanon, under President Michel Suleiman, has contributed towards national stability, the question of the disarmament of armed groups is only making slow progress.

"You as journalists and of observers of conflict in very many countries, not just in the Middle East, know how difficult it is to take the weapons out of politics," Mr. Williams said. "I think that needs to be done. It needs to be a Lebanese-led process."

With regard to border control and border management, he said there had been some improvement with the establishment of diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Syria and much closer coordination between the relevant authorities.

Although Lebanon had appointed a representative to the Joint Border Committee established between the two countries and sent an ambassador to Damascus, Syria had not done either yet, the Special Coordinator said.

Another issue Mr. Williams highlighted was the IDF's occupation of the northern part of the village of Ghajar, situated on Lebanon's border with the Golan.

He expressed hope that the formation of a new Israeli government following elections in February would lead to another IDF withdrawal from the village and progress on the issue of cluster bombs and munitions.
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