Lebanon’s government commissions the UN to complete the treaty over the location of the Special Tribunal

 

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon informed the Security Council that the Lebanese government has commissioned him to complete the treaty over the location of the Special Tribunal because of the situation in Lebanon.

 

“According to UN Security Council Resolution 1757and its addendum, the location of the Special Tribunal is pending the agreement between the UN and the host state,” Ban said in his letter to the Security Council.

 

The operative section 1-b of the resolution stipulates that “if the Secretary General reports that the Headquarters Agreement has not been concluded as envisioned under Article 8 of the annexed document, the location of the seat of the Tribunal shall be determined in consultation with the Government of Lebanon and be subject to the conclusion of a Headquarters Agreement between the United Nations and the State that hosts the Tribunal.”

 

Ban said that the Lebanese government reached an agreement last month with the UN that the location should be in Holland, but because of the situation in Lebanon, the UN will be in charge of concluding the agreement with the Dutch state.

 

Ban noted that the negotiations between the UN and Holland were successful and that UN and Dutch representatives have signed the agreement.