United Nations Security Council Resolution 1583

In March 1978, the Security Council adopted Resolutions 425 and 426, called on Israel to withdraw its forces from Lebanese territory, and established UNIFIL.[3] Resolution 1583 recalled the Secretary-General's conclusion that, as of 16 June 2000, Israel had withdrawn its forces from Lebanon in accordance with Resolution 425. It also stated that the Council recognized the Blue Line as valid for confirming that withdrawal and required the line to be respected in its entirety.[1] The resolution further recalled the Secretary-General's conclusion that UNIFIL had "essentially completed two of the three parts of its mandate," leaving the task of restoring international peace and security.[1]

The Lebanese Government submitted a letter dated 11 January 2005 requesting a new six-month extension of UNIFIL's mandate. The Council also considered the Secretary-General's report on UNIFIL dated 20 January 2005 (S/2005/36).[1] The situation remained volatile: the resolution expressed grave concern about continuing tension and violence and referred to serious breaches and sea, land, and continuing air violations of the withdrawal line.[1]

The Security Council adopted Resolution 1583 unanimously on 28 January 2005 and extended UNIFIL's mandate through 31 July 2005 in response to Lebanon's request.[1][2]

The resolution reaffirmed the Council's support for Lebanon's territorial integrity, sovereignty, and political independence within its internationally recognized boundaries and under the sole and exclusive authority of the Lebanese Government. It called on the government to deploy sufficient Lebanese armed and security forces throughout the south and to control the use of force on and from its territory.[1] These provisions underscored the Council's demand that Lebanese state authority extend throughout the border region.

The Council condemned acts of violence, including recent incidents across the Blue Line in which United Nations military observers were killed and wounded. It expressed concern about serious breaches and sea, land, and continuing air violations of the withdrawal line and urged the parties to end violations, avoid provocations, and scrupulously respect the safety of UNIFIL and other UN personnel.[1] The resolution also called on the parties to give UNIFIL full freedom of movement throughout its area of operation and asked the force to report any obstruction.[1]

The resolution welcomed UNIFIL's contribution to operational mine clearance in southern Lebanon and encouraged further UN assistance, including support for Lebanon's national mine-action capacity and the clearance of remaining mines and unexploded ordnance. The Council commended donor countries and stressed the need to provide Lebanon and UNIFIL with any additional existing maps and minefield records.[1]

Resolution 1583 called on the parties to exercise utmost restraint and cooperate fully with the United Nations and UNIFIL. It supported UNIFIL's efforts to maintain the ceasefire through mobile patrols, observation from fixed positions, and close contact with the parties, with the aims of correcting violations, resolving incidents, and preventing escalation. The Council stressed that the parties bore primary responsibility for maintaining the ceasefire.[1]

The Council requested the Secretary-General to continue consultations with Lebanon and other directly concerned parties and to report before the end of the mandate on implementation of the resolution, UNIFIL's activities, and tasks then carried out by the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization. It also requested recommendations concerning a review of UNIFIL's mandate and structure, taking account of conditions on the ground, the force's actual activities, and its contribution to restoring international peace and security.[1]

Resolution 1583 formed part of a series of Security Council renewals of UNIFIL's mandate in the years following Israel's 2000 withdrawal.[2][3] The Lebanese Government had not deployed its personnel to the Blue Line after that withdrawal, and reporting about the situation in 2005 stated that additional measures were still needed to establish effective governmental authority throughout the south. The same account reported that Hezbollah took credit for renewed military measures during 2005.[3]

Hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah escalated in July 2006. On 11 August 2006, Resolution 1701 gave UNIFIL a broader mandate and established that the area south of the Litani River was to be free of armed personnel, assets, and weapons other than those of UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces.[3]

Resolution 1583 used the Council's own language to characterize the border situation: it condemned violence across the Blue Line and expressed concern about serious breaches and sea, land, and continuing air violations of the withdrawal line. The resolution did not separately adjudicate the individual incidents to which that language referred.[1]

The resolution stated that the Council recognized the Blue Line as valid for confirming Israel's withdrawal under Resolution 425. The Lebanese Government continued to dispute the line's validity in the Shebaa Farms area, a position that the related account described as incompatible with Security Council resolutions. The Council's position and the Lebanese Government's objection therefore remained at odds.[1][3]

Contextual reporting about 2005 is distinct from the text of Resolution 1583 itself. It stated that Hezbollah took credit for resumed military measures and that rocket-firing incidents were perpetrated by individuals allegedly affiliated with Palestinian militant factions. It also reported that those incidents did not result in military escalation.[3]