Human Rights Watch has called on the United Nations to maintain a peacekeeping force in Lebanon after the UNIFIL mission’s mandate expires this year. The UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL) comprises approximately 7,500 troops from some 50 countries and has been deployed since 1978. Its presence has not prevented renewed conflict, as southern Lebanon has witnessed successive wars between Israel and Hezbollah.
Last August, the UN Security Council, under pressure from the United States, decided to end UNIFIL’s mandate on December 31, 2026. Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch, said, “Ending UNIFIL without a robust international replacement force effectively leaves millions of Lebanese civilians facing an uncertain and potentially catastrophic future.”
He added, “Peacekeeping forces are a crucial deterrent to attacks on civilians and human rights abuses.”
Human Rights Watch urged the UN to extend the peacekeeping force’s mandate “until the security situation improves sufficiently to consider further force reductions.” UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said that a peacekeeping force will be needed in Lebanon after the current mandate expires, a proposal likely to face opposition from the United States and Israel.
In June, Guterres presented three options, ranging from deploying approximately 2,000 to more than 5,500 UN personnel to monitor the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah and to support the Lebanese Armed Forces.
