UN report says that Lebanon is fragile and polarised

The UN Security Council met on Friday to discuss a recent United Nations report relating to Lebanon. In it, Ban Ki-moon warned about a widening political divide and the ¿widespread proliferation of weapons outside of the State¿s control¿.

BEIRUT // The UN secretary-general has expressed concern about the growing political tension in Lebanon, where deep divisions remain over the investigation into the assassination of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri.

The Security Council met on Friday to discuss a recent United Nations report relating to Lebanon. In it, Ban Ki-moon warned about a widening political divide and the "widespread proliferation of weapons outside of the State's control".

The secretary-general noted "that political tension in Lebanon has increased in recent months, fuelled, among other things, by speculation and public pronouncements concerning the proceedings of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon [STL]," Farhan Haq, a UN spokesman, said in a statement.

"He says that the positions in favour and against [the STL] are becoming growlingly entrenched and are polarising the country."

The STL is investigating the 2005 assassination of Hariri, who was killed in a car bomb explosion in Beirut along with 22 others. Divisions over the tribunal led to the collapse of Saad Hariri's cabinet in January, following the resignation of members of the Hizbollah-led March 8 bloc, which has rejected the UN-backed probe.

On January 25, Nejib Miqati, a billionaire businessman, was appointed prime minister designate. However, three months later he is still struggling to form a government. One of the challenges is deciding who will head the interior ministry, a key portfolio.

A unity government was ruled out in February, after the March 14 coalition, which includes Mr Hariri's Future Movement, announced it would not participate in a Miqati-led cabinet.

In his report on Lebanon, Mr Ban stressed the importance of naming a new government soon and called on Lebanese leaders to commit to restarting a "national dialogue".

"The absence of a functioning government in Lebanon for several months has created a power and security vacuum of which extremist and armed groups could take advantage, in an already fragile and polarised situation," he said in the report.

Last week, the UN special coordinator for Lebanon, Michael Williams, also reiterated the need to expedite the announcement of Lebanon's next ministerial line-up.

"I strongly welcomed the continued efforts of the premier-designate to form a new government in Lebanon, but I also expressed my concern that the process was taking a long time, while the daily needs of the Lebanese people at the socio-economic, political and security levels continue to grow," Mr Williams said following a meeting with Mr Miqati.

Mr Ban also expressed concern about "widespread proliferation of weapons outside of the State's control", which he said did not bode well for Lebanon's "domestic peace and prosperity".

"The secretary-general remains convinced that the disarmament of armed groups in Lebanon, in particular Hizbollah, can best be achieved through a Lebanese-led political process," said Mr Haq, the UN spokesman.

Hizbollah maintains that its weapons are needed to resists Israel, which still occupies the disputed Shebaa Farms and Kfar Shouba hills.

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