Security Council Calls on Lebanon to Implement Reforms

A general view shows the site of the 2020 Beirut port explosion, Lebanon October 13, 2021. The Arabic reads: 'The right to justice'. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A general view shows the site of the 2020 Beirut port explosion, Lebanon October 13, 2021. The Arabic reads: 'The right to justice'. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
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Security Council Calls on Lebanon to Implement Reforms

A general view shows the site of the 2020 Beirut port explosion, Lebanon October 13, 2021. The Arabic reads: 'The right to justice'. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A general view shows the site of the 2020 Beirut port explosion, Lebanon October 13, 2021. The Arabic reads: 'The right to justice'. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

The UN Security Council on Friday called on Lebanese officials to implement much needed reforms and hold free and fair elections.

In a statement, Council members “reiterated with urgency the need to implement previously outlined, tangible reforms which are necessary to help the Lebanese population.”

An economic meltdown has sank the once middle-income nation into poverty.

The Council also underlined the importance of delivering the reforms in order to ensure effective international support.

Council members also underlined the importance of holding free, fair, transparent and inclusive elections as scheduled on May15, “ensuring the full, equal and meaningful participation of women as candidates and voters in the election.”

They stressed once again the need for a swift, independent, impartial, thorough, and transparent investigation into the explosion that struck Beirut port on August 4, 2020.

The blast was caused by the detonation of hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse at the port for years, apparently with the knowledge of senior politicians and security officials who did nothing about it.

The members of the Council “called upon all Lebanese parties to implement a tangible policy of disassociation from any external conflicts, as an important priority, as spelled out in previous declarations, in particular the 2012 Baabda Declaration.”



Almost Half of Attacks on Heath Care in Lebanon Have Been Deadly, WHO Says

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Al-Khiyam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Al-Khiyam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
TT

Almost Half of Attacks on Heath Care in Lebanon Have Been Deadly, WHO Says

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Al-Khiyam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Al-Khiyam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)

The World Health Organization says nearly half of the attacks on health care in Lebanon have been deadly since the Middle East conflict erupted in October last year, the highest such rate anywhere in the world.

The UN health agency says 65 out of 137, or 47%, of recorded “attacks on health care” in Lebanon over that time period have proven fatal to at least one person, and often many more.

WHO’s running global tally counts attacks, whether deliberate or not, that affect places like hospitals, clinics, medical transport, and warehouses for medical supplies, as well as medics, doctors, nurses and the patients they treat.

Nearly half of attacks on health care in Lebanon since last October and the majority of deaths occurred since an intensified Israeli military campaign began against Hezbollah in the country two months ago.

The health agency said 226 health workers and patients have been killed and 199 injured in Lebanon between Oct. 7, 2023 and this Monday.