Aroldo Lázaro Sáenz (UNIFIL) on United Nations…

The monitoring of the cessation of hostilities is a key task in UNIFIL's mandate as described in UNSCR 1701 (2006). This mission is of even bigger importance after the hostilities of October 2023 - November 2024, but it has proved to be more complicated.
Since this cessation of hostilities, which came into effect on 27Nov24, and in the absence of a permanent ceasefire, one of the main obstacles has always been that the parties interpret differently their obligations under Resolution 1701, and now with respect to the cessation of hostilities understanding.
The strategic context and the balance of forces have now significantly changed and we may finally see a (slow) process towards a more permanent ceasefire but this may still take a long time.
It would require an internal political process in Lebanon to deal with issues including Hizbullah's and other non-state armed groups' military capabilities, and a political track between Lebanon and Israel (and Syria), to deal with questions of sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as border demarcation.
Host state consent to the presence of 10,000 foreign troops remains obviously key to implement the mandate. UNIFIL is only deployed on the Lebanese side of the Blue Line, in an area that is overwhelmingly Shia and resistance-minded. Israeli withdrawal and a good understanding of the political sensitivities in Lebanon, and the perception of the local population in the UNIFIL AO, are key for troop acceptance, freedom of movement and a good partnership with the Lebanese Armed Forces.
Impartiality, effective outreach and timely reaction to dis/misinformation are the tools at the mission's disposal.
In accomplishing our mandate, disinformation and misinformation are increasing threats that our mission is facing. These challenges demand that we adapt our approach to safeguard our credibility, project our impartiality and strengthen trust, and enhance the effectiveness of our operations.
To counter these challenges, we must establish a strong, fact-based narrative based on community engagement, operational presence, and a human approach.
The perception of credibility we have cultivated over the last 15 months through clear, factual and verified statements must now be capitalized on. Our messages must continue to be direct, consistent, and firmly rooted in verified facts to counter misinformation effectively.
Fact-checking and verification remain at the heart of our communication efforts.
We implemented a system where messages are centrally formulated and disseminated to all the units with an outreach component.
Effective communication is a shared responsibility across our entire mission.
It is essential that government actors also make public statements to sensitize the population to UNIFIL's role and mandate, to avoid misperception (that UNIFIL works at the behest of Israel, that peacekeepers have a hidden agenda, that UNIFIL is an occupation force, etc...).
Increased LAF deployment will also contribute to troop acceptance. More combined operational activities are currently not only focused on taking effective control of the AO, but on road clearance and the detection and removal of the massive quantities of unexploded ordnance. Vegetation removal by the IDF have also uprooted the numerous mine fields north of the Blue Line. Our presence in support of LAF will be a factor of reassurance for Lebanese returnees, and facilitate access for humanitarian and development partners to start recovery and reconstruction.
A political process towards a permanent ceasefire should be of the highest priority. The US and French involvement helped to de-escalate hostilities in November 2024. A monitoring mechanism has been established, but this is still a fragile process and so far, only military-to-military contacts have taken place.
A political layer will be required to get the parties on track to a full implementation of Resolution 1701 and facilitate open discussions on a potentially contentious border delineation process. UNIFIL does not have a political mandate to enter into such negotiations. The UN Special Coordinator in Lebanon, with whom UNIFIL coordinates closely, is fully engaged with external partners to create conditions for a political process to take place.

UNIFIL can help make required security arrangements and support maintaining stability along the Blue Line, to avoid escalation. But, to do so, we need to adapt ourselves to the situation, if we want to fulfill UNIFIL's mandate. A key factor inside UNIFIL's adaptation is the use of technology.
For this reason, we have decided to develop an adaptation plan, focusing on five key objectives: supporting the mechanism, strengthening our operational posture, securing support from local communities, ensuring integration with broader peacebuilding efforts, and enhancing the mission's profile.
Regarding the latter objective, enhancing UNIFIL's capabilities is crucial. On one hand, we have already strengthened our explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) and engineering capabilities, though certain steps are still ongoing to fully meet our requirements. On the other hand, we have devised a plan to introduce new capabilities, leveraging technology to better equip UNIFIL in fulfilling its mandate.
Technology has already proved helpful to peacekeeping operations and, in UNIFIL, it could contribute to enhance peacekeepers' safety and security and to cover gaps in monitoring. Current radar capabilities, for instance, do not capture low-flying UAVs or airstrikes. The most important capabilities could be drones, ground radars and cameras, the advantage of which would be to monitor large areas complementing the deployment of PKs and, for longer durations, to inform troops on the ground in real time about what they are going to encounter (e.g. roadblocks).
In sum, the use of technology would enhance the mission's capacity to monitor and report on violations of Res1701, and the acceptance by the parties of such use of technology would be testament to the parties' commitment to Res1701 and the cessation of hostilities.
In conclusion: UNIFIL, within the framework of its mandate, will continue its adaptation, enhancing its capabilities including with the help of technology, trying to send clear messages to avoid misinformation, in order to continue working for the full implementation of UNSCR 1701 and supporting the cessation of hostilities.