Security Council Will Tackle STL Funding if Lebanon Fails to Do So

The United Nations Security Council will have to “confront” the issue of the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon if the government fails to do so, reported the daily An Nahar on Saturday.

A western diplomatic source told the daily that the Security Council has not reached that point yet.

“This issue is a cause for concern at the council,” he added.

He noted that President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Najib Miqati had both stated, while they were in New York, that Lebanon will commit to all of its international obligations.

The two officials had traveled to New York when Lebanon headed the U.N. Security Council earlier this year.

The source added that the Security Council had “welcomed these pledges with relief.”

“We are aware of the hardships Miqati is facing and there is still hope that this issue could be resolved,” he continued.

“We will tackle the issue of the funding if Lebanon does not fulfill its duties,” he warned.

Lebanon is obligated to fund 49 percent of the STL’s budget.

Disputes have arisen in the country between the rival March 8 and 14 camps, with the former refusing to fund it and the latter insisting that Lebanon respect its international commitments or face U.N. sanctions.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman had warned that Lebanon may incur harsh consequences should it fail to fund the tribunal.

The Lebanese government should abide by its commitments because it is a member of the U.N. Security Council and because the international tribunal was established by a Council resolution at Lebanon's request, he added to al-Arabiya television.