UN Undersecretary General for Legal Affairs Nicholas Michel on
Tuesday called on Lebanese political leaders to strengthen dialogue
and break the impasse on the setting up of an international court
in the murder of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri.
The ratification process faces serious obstacles, but it is time
for legislation to approve the proposed court, he said after
arriving in Beirut Tuesday and meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister
Fuad Siniora and Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri.
Last Friday UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he would
dispatch Michel to visit Lebanon with the purpose "of offering his
legal assistance to the Lebanese government and political leaders,
to help their constitutional procedures."
The UN chief hopes the visit will help the political leaders of
Lebanon in their efforts to push forward with constitutional
ratification procedures so that the Special Tribunal can be
established as soon as possible.
The establishment of the tribunal is a priority for the current
Lebanese government, which has accused Damascus of killing Hariri
and other figures since his assassination. The cabinet approved UN
plans for the court in November.
But the opposition, including Syria's allies in Lebanon, dispute
the legitimacy of the cabinet. Berri, a key opposition leader, has
refused to call the chamber to vote on the document.
Although agreeing in principle to the idea, the opposition fears
that the court will be used as a political weapon against it, and
therefore a discussion of the tribunal's mandate is necessary.
Michel, who helped draft the treaty to establish the tribunal,
has said that the United Nations would keep out of "the internal
controversy" in Lebanon.
He also stressed that his task is to create the necessary
atmosphere there for the establishment of the court in a spirit of
national dialogue, reconciliation and mutual understanding, adding
that the aim of the tribunal will be to help the Lebanese "create
conditions for a lasting peace."
The United Nations and the Lebanese government have signed an
agreement on the creation of the special tribunal, which still
needs approval from the country's parliament.
Hariri was killed along with 22 others in a suicide truck
bombing in Beirut in February 2005.
(Xinhua News Agency April 18, 2007)
