United Nations Security Council Resolution 1636, adopted unanimously on 31 October 2005, after recalling resolutions

1373 Year 1373 ( MCCCLXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * March 24 – The Treaty of Santarém is signed between Ferdinand I of Portugal and Henry II of Castile, ending the ...

(2001),

1566 __NOTOC__ Year 1566 (Roman numerals, MDLXVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 7 – Cardinal Michele Ghislieri is 1565–1566 papal conclave, elected as the new Pope ...

(2004) and 1595 (2005), the council insisted that the

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

n authorities fully co-operate with the inquiry of the United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC) into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister

Rafic Hariri Rafic Bahaa El Deen al-Hariri (; 1 November 1944 – 14 February 2005) was a Lebanese businessman and politician who served as Prime Minister of Lebanon, prime minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2000 to 2004. Hariri headed fi ...

, not least by arresting the suspects identified by the commission in its final report. The resolution, sponsored by France, the United Kingdom and United States, was adopted at a meeting where 11 members of the council were represented by their

foreign minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

Resolution

Observations

In the preamble of the resolution, the council announced that it had examined the report by the UNIIIC into the bombing in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

which killed Hariri and 22 others. The Lebanese authorities were praised for the full co-operation they had given to the inquiry, which had not yet completed its investigation. It was also necessary to continue investigations outside the country, and the Council acknowledged a request from Lebanon to extend the mandate of the UNIIIC. At the same time, it was also recognised that international assistance would be required to establish the truth and hold those responsible for the attack. The commission had already concluded that, given the interference of Syria in the Lebanese government and the intermingling of the intelligence services of both countries, it was impossible that the attack on Hariri was made without the approval of senior Syrian officials. The council was also mindful that Syrian officials were hesitant to co-operate with the UNIIIC and that some had provided misleading or false information.

Acts

The following was enacted under

Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter sets out the UN Security Council's powers to maintain peace. It allows the Council to "determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression" and to take military a ...

, thus making the provisions legally enforceable.

I

The council was concerned about the conclusion that Lebanese and Syrian officials were involved in the attack. It imposed a travel ban and asset freeze on individuals identified by the UNIIIC that were linked to the assassination. A committee of the security council was established to administer the restrictions. The council determined that the involvement of any state would constitute a serious violation of its obligations to not support terrorism.

II

The

Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder a ...

had extended the mandate of UNIIIC until 15 December 2005, and the council welcomed assistance given to the commission, particularly by the Lebanese authorities through the arrest of former security officials suspected of involvement in the attack.

III

The council decided that Syria had to detain individuals responsible for involvement in the attack and co-operate unconditionally with the UNIIIC. It also insisted that Syria refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of Lebanon.

IV

Finally, the UNIIIC was requested to report on the progress of its investigation by 13 December 2005, including co-operation from Syria.

Reaction

Following the adoption of the resolution, Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara stated that his country had already co-operated in full and expressed his regret that such a resolution should have been adopted. He also said that the resolution accusing Syria of having knowledge of the attack was tantamount to charging that U.S. officials knew in advance about the

11 September attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

References

External links

*
Text of the Resolution at undocs.org
{{UNSCR 2005 1636 2005 in Lebanon 2005 in Syria 1636 1636 October 2005 Assassination of Rafic Hariri