UN Secretary-General's Speech and Q&As at the Press Conference in Beirut

Ladies and gentlemen of the media.

I have come to Beirut with a message to the Lebanese people, to the warring parties, and to the world.

Above all, I am here on a visit of solidarity with the people of Lebanon.

Muslim communities are observing Ramadan, and Christian communities are observing Lent.

This is a season for solidarity, generosity, and a powerful reminder of Lebanon’s spirit of confessional co-existence.

It breaks my heart to see this period shattered by escalating violence.

Over the past two weeks, we have seen widespread destruction.

Hizbullah rockets and drones were launched at targets in northern Israel and the occupied Syrian Golan. This was followed by devastating Israeli bombing operations and blanket evacuation notices, rendering large portions of Lebanon uninhabitable.

Many Israelis were sent to shelter.

Hundreds of Lebanese have been killed, including many children.

And many more have been wounded.

And hundreds of thousands of civilians are fleeing with nothing but what they can carry. I was deeply saddened by the testimonies of the displaced people when I visited a shelter today.

The south risks being turned into a wasteland.

Southern Beirut – which is under sweeping evacuation orders by Israel – risks being bombed to oblivion.

The Bekaa and Baalbek – and other areas – are scenes of destruction and panic.

It is tragic to see all this happening in a country that has contributed so much to world civilization. 

The Lebanese people did not choose this war. 

They were dragged into it.

My message to the warring parties is clear:  Stop the fighting. Stop the bombing. 

 There is no military solution – only diplomacy, dialogue and the full implementation of the UN Charter and Security Council resolutions.

 The diplomatic avenues are available – including through my Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, and through key Member States.

 This is the pathway to spare communities on both sides of the Blue Line more needless suffering.

 Just over a year ago, a cessation of hostilities between Lebanon and Israel was achieved.

It did not resolve all outstanding issues – and it was not fully respected. 

While the parties reiterated their commitment to the full implementation of Resolution 1701, violations persisted by both sides.  

Violence did not end.

And the territorial integrity of Lebanon continued to be violated.

There was more a “lesser fire” than a real ceasefire.

But the November 2024 arrangement did bring significant relief and offered a renewed opportunity to advance political dialogue.

Unfortunately, that opportunity was not fully seized. 

We are doing everything we can now to bring about an immediate de-escalation and a cessation of hostilities.

My Special Coordinator is engaging with all actors around the clock to bring the parties to the table.

 UNIFIL peacekeepers – under the command of General Abagnara – remain in position.

They are maintaining an impartial international peacekeeping presence along the Blue Line and throughout the Area of Operations, to fulfill the mandate entrusted to them by the Security Council, and to support the local populations. 

I want to pay tribute to their courage.

Last Friday, three Blue Helmets serving with the Ghanaian contingent were injured, one seriously - I visited him today at the hospital - amid intense exchanges of fire.

I wish them a full and speedy recovery.

Attacks against peacekeepers and positions are completely unacceptable and they must stop. 

They are in breach of international law and may constitute war crimes.

Moreover, civilians must be respected and protected at all times – and civilian infrastructure must be spared.

Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected.

The State must have full control over weapons throughout Lebanese territory. This is a central tenet of Resolution 1701 – and a sine qua non to lasting security on both sides of the Blue Line.  

Last August, the Government of Lebanon took a historic decision to establish state monopoly of arms throughout the country.

We will continue to support the efforts to strengthen the Lebanese Armed Forces and other State security services.

But the vision of resolution 1701 cannot be brought to life by the army, alone.

It requires a whole-of-government effort to address the entrenched reality of non-state arms – and to heal long-standing grievances and divisions.

And it must include every community in Lebanon – Christian, Druze, Shiite, Sunni, and others.

It is imperative that Hizbullah respects the government’s decision to assert the state’s monopoly of arms, as well as all relevant Security Council Resolutions, including 1701.

And it is imperative that Israel respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon. 

The war must stop.

Finally, my message to the international community is simply: step up your engagement.

Empower the Lebanese State, and support the Lebanese Armed Forces to secure the capabilities and resources they need.

Respond generously to the humanitarian appeal launched yesterday to provide the government of Lebanon with the resources needed to intensify its support to the populations affected.

The people of Lebanon – as well as Israel and all other peoples throughout the region – deserve to live without fear. 

To raise their children without the sound of sirens and strikes. 

 To return home without wondering when they have to flee again.

Our team on the ground is working to do everything they can to support the Lebanese people and institutions. I am deeply grateful to all UN colleagues for their commitment and dedication.

Together, we will spare no effort in striving for the peaceful future that Lebanon and this region so richly deserve.

Thank you.

***

SPOKESPERSON: We will open the floor for questions, please speak slowly and clearly and state your name and media affiliation. Someone will bring the microphone to you. Yes sir.

 QUESTION: Good afternoon. This is Joe Farshakh reporting for LBCI Lebanon. Mr. Secretary- General, many people argue that the international legal order has collapsed. Wars are waged, civilians are killed, children are amongst the fatalities, and humanitarian workers are also targeted, with no accountability whatsoever, and major powers ignoring the set of rules that they themselves wrote. In this new world order where the rule of the strongest, la raison du plus fort, prevails, what relevance does the United Nations still have? Thank you.

SECRETARY-GENERAL: An essential relevance. It's exactly because we see powers undermining international law. It's exactly because we see those that try to put the law of the force above the force of law. It's exactly because some of the biggest powers are the ones more engaged in violations of international law that the overwhelming majority of the world population and the overwhelming majority of the countries of the world that want to be respected in their sovereignty, that want their populations to be protected, that want to have a voice at the table, it is why they need the United Nations more than ever.

But we need a United Nations totally committed to fight for the values of the Charter, for international law. And I can guarantee that I'll do everything in my power to maintain - from the Secretariat of United Nations - a clear position without double standards in favor of international law, in favor of the charter, and in favor of more justice and equality in today's world.

 

SPOKESPERSON: Thank you. The gentleman here in the back.

QUESTION: Secretary General, this is Bernard Smith from Al Jazeera English. You touched on this in your opening statement, but Israel's evacuation orders now cover some 14% of Lebanese territory, including whole suburbs of Beirut, as well as southern Lebanon, as well as parts of the Beqaa. Are these sort of forced displacement orders consistent with international humanitarian law, and have you communicated any red lines to the Israelis?

SECRETARY-GENERAL: Well, as a matter of fact, evacuation orders in a situation where so many vulnerable populations exist in the areas that are asked to be evacuated does not create enough security for civilians, and whatever does not create enough security for civilians inevitably becomes in violation of international humanitarian law. The protection of civilians is the maximum responsibility of any country at war, and it applies in Lebanon today as it applies everywhere in the world.

QUESTION: And the red lines, did you communicate any red lines to the Israelis?

SECRETARY-GENERAL: The red line that everybody must respect is international law. That is true for Israel, as it is true for any other party to the conflict or any other country in the world.

 

SPOKESPERSON: Thank you. The lady in the back.

QUESTION: I am Najia Al-Hosari from Arab News daily. The war didn't stop, and if it didn't stop, will you use your authority under the UN Charter to ask the Security Council to meet and stop an Israeli invasion before it starts on a large scale, because it is a threat to the international peace and security?

SECRETARY-GENERAL: I think we need to recognize that we have a problem with the Security Council. The Security Council today no longer represents the world as the world exists. It represents the world after 1945. You have three permanent members of the Security Council from Europe, one from Asia, one from the United States, from America. You have no permanent member from Africa, no permanent member from Latin America, just one from Asia that obviously is a continent with an enormous weight in global population and global wealth. And so, the Council has a problem of legitimacy and a problem of efficiency because of the vetoes. And what we have witnessed is that time and time again, when we have situations of conflict and when it's necessary to stop the conflict, there is a veto that emerges and that does not allow the Security Council to act. That, unfortunately, is something that we are witnessing time and time again, and I am not hoping that in the short term, things will change.

 

SPOKESPERSON: We have time for one or two more questions. Yes please.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary-General, Alexandros Morntountak, from the Greek Public Broadcasting Corporation. The Lebanese government appears to be drawn between disregard from both Israel and Hezbollah, and as resolution 1701 is being de facto overlooked, are there specific diplomatic steps under review that can prevent further multilateral escalation and strengthen Lebanese sovereignty as expressed by its current and any future government? How can the UN further support the Lebanese state in extending its authority over belligerence while navigating inherent internal tensions?

SECRETARY-GENERAL: First of all, the UN is extremely active, the proof is my presence here, and our Special Representative is actively engaged with the parties in order to create conditions for as soon as possible to stop this war and to restart a serious process of negotiation. But we are not alone.

If you are following the press, and I believe you are, you should have seen that at least two countries, France and [Cyprus], have announced today initiatives in order to restart negotiations and in order to make sure that we end this absolutely intolerable situation of war. And I'm hoping that this pressure will be extended to other countries and that more and more countries will be telling both Hizbollah and Israel that this war must stop.

QUESTION: What about the elevation of the Lebanese government's authority, though.

SECRETARY-GENERAL: And obviously, one of the things that we have been more clearly affirming is that it is absolutely essential, and the international community has a lot to do in strengthening, first of all, the armed forces of Lebanon, providing them with the resources [and] the equipment that are necessary to be the sole force within the country and strengthening the army, creating the conditions for the government itself to have a much stronger capacity in order to guarantee the safety of the country and the establishment of conditions to reposition Lebanon as in the past, as a center of civilization and culture central to the Middle East.

 

SPOKESPERSON: Thank you so much. Maybe one more final question. Please go ahead.

QUESTION: Maysa Abdel Khalek from Qatar News Agency. What's your comment on the Israeli statement saying that we will do in Lebanon what they did in Gaza? Thank you.

SECRETARY-GENERAL: I have not seen that comment, but if that comment exists, it's absolutely intolerable. What happened in Gaza is a disaster that is something that can must be avoided anywhere else in the world.

Thank you very much, all the best.