Report: Doha, Riyadh Pushing for Human Rights Council Condemnation of Hizbullah

by Naharnet Newsdesk 23 March 2015, 08:19

Qatar and Saudi Arabia are reportedly leading a campaign for the adoption of a statement by the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva that slams Hizbullah's presence in Syria.

As Safir daily on Monday said that the two Gulf countries are seeking to include a clause in the closing statement of the council's annual meeting to condemn Hizbullah's participation in the war in the neighboring country.

But Lebanon's foreign ministry entered a diplomatic battle to stop such a move, said the newspaper.

The ministry has held contacts with several member states to urge them not to include such a clause in the statement and to only refer to “foreign fighters” present in Syria.

According to As Safir, the ministry has stressed that the priority of the Lebanese authorities at the current stage is to safeguard stability and avoid anything that creates chaos.

It reportedly told the representatives of member states that the draft-statement in its current formula does not fall in favor of Lebanon's stability.

Last year, Lebanon thwarted a similar attempt after Riyadh and Doha reacted positively to its demand not to condemn Hizbullah, which is fighting alongside troops loyal to Syrian President Bahsar Assad.

But in 2013, the 47-member Council backed a resolution from the United States, Britain, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, condemning “the intervention of all foreign combatants in the Syrian Arab Republic, including those fighting on behalf of the regime and most recently Hizbullah.”

In December last year, the U.N. General Assembly also adopted a resolution that strongly condemned the interference of foreign fighters in Syria, in addition to the “Hizbullah militia.”

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