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Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Saturday that Lebanon’s priority is for the UN peacekeeping force in the south of the country to stay and have its mandate renewed. He added that Beirut is also open to a substitute arrangement under UN auspices to avoid a “security vacuum.”
Aoun made the remarks to UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, who is visiting Lebanon, according to a statement from the Lebanese presidency. The force, known as UNIFIL, is currently due to wind down.
Aoun told Mohammed that Lebanon wants UNIFIL to continue its mission. If that proves impossible, he said, the country would be willing to set up an alternative mechanism under the UN umbrella that would prevent any gap in security in the south.
He also insisted that UN Security Council Resolution 1701 must remain “the legal reference and the basis for any future international arrangements in the south.” The 2006 resolution ended hostilities between Israeli forces and Hezbollah and set the framework for the peacekeepers’ work along the border.
Aoun also addressed the issue of bringing all weapons under state control. He said any approach must weigh “security, political, social, economic, humanitarian and development considerations,” suggesting that the effort cannot be treated as a purely military matter.
Mohammed echoed the need for a broader approach, according to the presidency. She said security and military measures “must be accompanied by development, humanitarian and institutional efforts to put an end to the suffering of the population.”
The Security Council created UNIFIL in 1978. In August 2025, it voted unanimously to extend the mission’s mandate one final time, through Dec. 31, 2026. The resolution allows one further year for an orderly and safe withdrawal of its personnel. It also asked the UN secretary-general to present options by June 1, 2026, for future implementation of Resolution 1701.
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