The United Nations can authorize peacekeeping missions either under Chapter 6 or Chapter 7 of the UN charter. In the crudest sense, Chapter 6 peacekeeping missions are observation-only missions and Chapter 7 peacekeeping missions are authorized to use force. UNIFIL, the peacekeeping force in Lebanon, is a Chapter 6 mission. So while they can do things like “observe” Hezbollah forces crossing the Blue Line to kidnap Israel soldiers (and then “shamelessly lie” about how they didn’t videotape the whole incident) they can’t actually do anything. Obviously, since dealing with an armed Hezbollah requires things like armaments, this is stupid.
So earlier this week, when the US was trying to convince Israel to publicly commit to the idea of a UN ceasefire, they were promising to expand UNIFIL’s mandate…
The new force is expected to operate under Article 7 of the UN Charter, granting it enforcement authority. Its troops will be authorized to open fire in order to carry out Security Council resolutions, not just in self-defense. UNIFIL, whose mandate is based on Article 6 of the UN Charter, has no such authority. Its role is one of observing and reporting.
The resolution authorises the UN force, known by its acronym Unifil, to take “all necessary action” to stop the area it patrols from being using for any kind of hostile activities. But in a significant concession to the Lebanese it will still have a traditional peacekeeping mandate, under Chapter 6 of the UN charter. A Chapter 7 mandate, which Israel had wanted, allows troops to use military force to enforce peace.
Israeli diplomats should not be allowed to complain about this blatant bait-and-switch: if they were too stupid to see it coming, it’s their fault.
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