UN Security Council Unanimously Endorses Findings on Murder of Rafik Hariri

SECURITY COUNCIL UNANIMOUSLY ENDORSES FINDINGS OF INVESTIGATION INTO MURDER OF RAFIK HARIRI, CALLS FOR SYRIA 'S FULL, UNCONDITIONAL COOPERATION

Resolution 1636 (2005), Adopted at Ministerial Level, Decides On Assets Freeze for Suspects, Warns of 'Further Action' for Non-Compliance

Formally endorsing the Report of the United Nations Independent Investigation Commission that found evidence of Syrian involvement in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the Security Council this morning, in a ministerial meeting, called for Syria to cooperate fully and unconditionally with the Commission and insisted it not interfere in Lebanese affairs.

Through its unanimous adoption of resolution 1636 (2005) under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, the Council also decided that all individuals suspected by the Commission or the Government of Lebanon of involvement in planning, sponsoring, organizing or perpetrating the murder be subject to travel restrictions and freezing of assets. It also endorsed the Commission's conclusion that Syrian authorities must clarify a number of questions that remained unresolved and detain Syrian officials or individuals the Commission considers as suspects.

Defining the crime as a terrorist act, the Council said that the involvement of any State in it would constitute a serious violation of that country's obligations to prevent and refrain from supporting terrorism in accordance with previous resolutions. It said it would also amount to a serious violation of the sovereignty and political independence of Lebanon. It requested the Commission to report to the Council by 15 December on the investigation's progress, including on Syria's cooperation, so the Council could consider further action.

The 14 February 2005 bombing, which killed Mr. Hariri and 22 others, led to renewed calls for the withdrawal of all Syrian troops and intelligence agents, who had been in Lebanon since the early stages of the country's 1975-1990 civil war. The Security Council set up the Commission after an earlier United Nations mission found Lebanon's own investigation seriously flawed and Syria primarily responsible for the political tension preceding the murder.

Speaking after the vote, the sponsors of the resolution -- France, United Kingdom, United States -- emphasized the importance of bringing to justice those responsible for what they called a "heinous act". Through the text, Philippe Douste-Blazy, Minister for Foreign Affairs of France, said the Council was sending a message of support to the Lebanese people and the Commission, and a message to Syria that it must cooperate with the investigation, saying the Council would Decide on the consequences of any failure by the Syrian authorities to meet their obligations.

Condoleeza Rice, Secretary of State of the United States, said that Syria had been working consistently to thwart the will of the Lebanese people and the international community. With the decision today, the Council showed that Syria had isolated itself through destabilizing behaviour and support for terrorism.

Calling the assassination a "medieval" crime, Jack Straw, Foreign Minister of the United Kingdom, emphasized that the report was clear on indicating where its evidence pointed, although the presumption of innocence still stood. The resolution put Syria on notice that the Council's patience was limited in obtaining its necessary cooperation.

Other Council Members explained why they had worked to remove a more pointed threat of sanctions out of the text. Foreign Minister Mohamed Bedjaoui of Algeria said that the resulting text properly called on Syria to cooperate; he commended Syria's pledges to do so. The Council's prime consideration should now be to help the Commission complete its work and not call for premature action or delve into the issue of terrorism, which should be dealt with in separate resolutions.

He said that political elements in the text, such as those that prematurely incriminated Syria, harmed the consistency of the resolution and those had been properly taken out. It was in that context that the threats of sanctions had been removed. Under Chapter VII, the resolution was already binding. China's Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said that the Council could not threaten sanctions, it could only authorize the use of sanctions with prudence in light of actual situations.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of the Russian Federation said he made sure that no provisions be included that cast doubt either on the presumption of innocence or the impartiality of the Council, or set up a precedent of allowing the placement of sanctions as the prerogative of the Commission. It was important that the people of the region see the Council as an impartial arbiter.

As for the Lebanese, its Foreign Minister, Boutros Assaker, said that truth and justice were their priorities. Lebanon was in the midst of working to reform its institutions and economy to better serve the Lebanese people, and the application of law would help that effort. He called on all parties to cooperate with the Commission so that the investigation could run its full course.

The Syrian Foreign Minister, Farouk Al-Shara, said that Foreign Minister Straw was right when he compared the Hariri assassination to a medieval event. However, the investigation could be described as medieval, as well, in its presumption of Syria's guilt. He said the resolution repeated nearly verbatim the unclear accusations against Syria in the Commission's report, which forgot that there had to be a presumption of innocence and which hampered the search for the true perpetrator.

More grave than such presumptions were the accusations that Syria had not cooperated in substance with the Independent Commission, he said. After Detlev Mehlis' visit to the Council, Syria had ensured the Commission of its cooperation, and the Commission could have defined its requirements.

Also making statements today were the Foreign Ministers of: Brazil, Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim; Denmark, Per Stig Moller; Greece, Petros Molyviatis; Philippines, Alberto G. Romulo; and Romania, Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu.

The representatives of Argentina, Benin, Japan and United Republic of Tanzania also spoke.

The meeting, which began at 10:58 a.m., adjourned at 1 p.m.

Source: United Nations

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