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.”