AMBASSADOR WOLFF RAISES HIZBALLAH RE-ARMAMENT WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000144 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/20/2017 TAGS: PREL PTER UNSC KPKO IS SY LE SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR WOLFF RAISES HIZBALLAH RE-ARMAMENT WITH UN DPKO U/SYG GUEHENNO Classified By: Ambassador Alejandro D. Wolff, per 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary. During a meeting with UN Under Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie SIPDIS Guehenno on February 20, Ambassador Wolff and IO A/S Silverberg raised strong USG concerns of arms smuggling into Lebanon and claims by Hizballah SYG Nasrallah that his organization is secretly transferring weapons "to the front." Underscoring that such transfers are a blatant violation of UNSCR 1701 and pose a substantial risk of renewed hostilities between Israel and Hizballah, Ambassador Wolff urged Guehenno to ensure that UNIFIL responds in a way that shows it will not permit a return to the status quo ante. SYG Ban should issue a statement responding to Nasrallah's speech and the UN should provide the Council with any and all information on arms smuggling as it becomes available, as well as including this information in the SYG's next report on 1701 (expected in late March) so that the Council can take appropriate action. While acknowledging reports of arms smuggling into Lebanon generally, U/SYG Guehenno insisted that UNIFIL had its area of operations (AOR) between the Blue Line and the Litani river under control. He added that UNIFIL would prevent Hizballah from moving its weapons into south Lebanon. Separately, a DPKO officer told Poloff that the Secretariat planned to send a team of civilian police experts to Lebanon by February 23 to follow up on a technical assessment they completed last year on measures the GOL and bilateral donors could take to secure Lebanon's border with Syria. DPKO also said it plans to address Nasrallah's speech in the 1701 report. End Summary. Hizballah Re-Armament and Nasrallah's Speech -------------- ¶2. (C) Ambassador Wolff and IO A/S Silverberg raised strong USG concerns about reports of arms smuggling into Lebanon and Hizballah re-armament during a meeting February 20 with UN Under Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guehenno, Assistant Secretary-General Hedi Annabi, and DPKO officer Susan Allee. Recalling Hizballah Secretary-General Nasrallah's public assertion on February 16 SIPDIS that Hizballah continues to secretly transfer weapons "to the front," Ambassador Wolff underscored that such transfers represent a blatant violation of UNSCR 1701 and pose a significant risk that hostilities could break out again soon between Israel and Hizballah. The new UNIFIL force was established in south Lebanon to ensure that the mistakes of the past are not repeated, but Nasrallah's comments and continuing reports of arms smuggling challenge UNIFIL and the UN's credibility. ¶3. (C) Ambassador Wolff argued that the SYG should release a statement responding to Nasrallah's speech that makes clear that UNIFIL will not permit Hizballah to re-arm in its area of operations. The Secretariat should also ensure that all available information about weapons smuggling into Lebanon is made available to the Council, including in the SYG's next report on UNSCR 1701, so that the Council can follow up with appropriate measures. The U.S. also looks to the UN to develop proposals to counter weapons smuggling both inside and outside UNIFIL's area of responsibility as well as ideas to help secure the Syria-Lebanon border. Guehenno: No Arms Moving into South Lebanon -------------- ¶4. (C) While acknowledging reports of arms smuggling into Lebanon generally, U/SYG Guehenno insisted that UNIFIL had its area of operations (AOR) between the Blue Line and the Litani River under control. UNIFIL had not observed arms smuggling into its AOR, and given that it has more than 10,000 troops in the zone, was confident that it would be in a position to observe such transfers if they were happening. While Guehenno did not discount reports of arms smuggling north of the Litani river, he argued that UNIFIL would stop Hizballah if it tried to move those weapons into south Lebanon. On this point, Ambassador Wolff underscored that by the time Hizballah tries to move these weapons into the UNIFIL AOR, a war with Israel would most likely already have started. UNIFIL had to act now to ensure that the conditions that might give rise to renewed hostilities do not take root again. ¶5. (SBU) Separately, DPKO officer Susan Allee (protect) told Poloff that the Secretariat planned to send a team of civilian police experts from New York back to Lebanon by February 23 to follow up on a technical assessment they completed in September 2006 on how the GOL could secure its border with Syria. The September 2006 assessment focused on USUN NEW Y 00000144 002 OF 002 how to improve the GOL's technical surveillance capability, the effectiveness of LAF patrols at the border, and how international assistance (provided bilaterally rather than through UNIFIL) could supplement this effort. During this visit, Allee said the experts would check if/how the GOL planned to implement its previous recommendations and how bilateral assistance efforts have progressed in the past six months. The group's findings would be integrated into the SYG's next report on UNSCR 1701, which is expected in late March. Allee also told Poloff that DPKO planned to address Nasrallah's speech in the draft report on 1701 that it sends to the SYG for his review. WOLFF