ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base

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United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL, ) is a United Nations observer mission in Lebanon. The UNIFIL mission was launched in 1978 and is one of the oldest active UN observer missions. The headquarters has been stationed in Naqura since 1978.

Upon its establishment in 1978, Resolutions 425 and 426 of 19 March 1978 were implemented. The mission was originally tasked with confirming the withdrawal of Israeli troops, which was called for by Resolution 425. It should also serve to restore peace and security in southern Lebanon and ultimately help the Lebanese Government to regain sovereignty and authority in the area. In the following years, the tasks of UNIFIL were adapted several times to the changed situation and the mandate was repeatedly extended.

During the 2006 Lebanon War, UN Resolution 1701 was adopted on 11 August 2006, which fundamentally extended the UNIFIL mandate. Unlike in the past, the mission is now based on Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations. It is therefore an armed blue helmet mission, which means that UNIFIL forces can carry out their tasks under the mandate by force. (In the press, this has been called a robust mandate.) As part of this mission, the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, which has grown from 2,000 to 15,000 men, together with an equal contingent of the regular army, will take over the positions occupied by Israel during the 2006 Lebanon war and ensure that no armed militia roams the area. For the first time, the blue helmet soldiers were supplemented by naval units. The naval task force is supposed to monitor Lebanon’s 225 km long coastline and prevent the smuggling of weapons. Following the resolution, the parties to the conflict, Hezbollah and Israel, approved the ceasefire, which entered into force on 14 August 2006.

Since 28 February 2022, Major General Aroldo Lázaro Sáenz of Spain has been Commander of UNIFIL.

Background
After Black September 1970, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and its supporters were expelled from Jordan. The PLO had established in southern Lebanon its new main base for the fight against Israel in Lebanon. The organization had then created its own structures in southern Lebanon and maintained public institutions such as hospitals and schools. The Palestinian presence and the demographic imbalance caused by the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians was a contributing factor in the Lebanese civil war that lasted from 1975 to 1990.

On March 11, 1978, an 11-member Fatah armed command landed on a beach north of Tel Aviv. The command hijacked a bus and opened fire on Israeli military facilities. And then the follow-up