I. Background
The present report is my twenty-first semi-annual report on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1559 (2004). It provides a review and an assessment of the process of the implementation of the resolution since my previous report on the subject, which was issued on 7 October 2014 (S/2014/720). I note herein the continued lack of progress on key provisions of the resolution and highlight increasing concerns about pressure on the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of Lebanon. On 19 March, the Security Council adopted a presidential statement (S/PRST/2015/7) in which, among other things, it urged all parties to reflect positively on ways forward on all outstanding issues in the implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions, including resolution 1559 (2004), and expressed concern at violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty, the stalemate in the election of Lebanon’s President, the impact of the conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic on Lebanon’s security and stability, and condemned acts of terrorism that have taken place in Lebanon. In the statement, the President of the Council also commended the role of the Lebanese Armed Forces in defending Lebanon’s sovereignty, and welcomed the renewal of the mandate of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
As I stated in my report on the implementation of resolution 1701 (2006) (S/2015/147), on 28 January, Hizbullah launched several anti-tank guided missiles from the area of operations of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) towards an Israeli military convoy south of the Blue Line, which resulted in the deaths of two Israeli soldiers and injured several other soldiers and civilians. In the retaliatory fire by the Israel Defense Forces, a UNIFIL peacekeeper was killed. Both of those incidents are in serious violation of resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1701 (2006). At the time of the incident, I condemned all violence and called upon all concerned to exercise maximum calm and restraint, to refrain from any action that could undermine the stability of the area and to act responsibly to prevent any escalation in an already tense regional environment.