PRESIDENT AOUN TO UN SPECIAL COORDINATOR: LEBANON ADHERES TO IMPLEMENTING RESOLUTION 1701 TO MAINTAIN STABILITY AND SECURITY ON SOUTHERN BORDERS

President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, received United Nations Special Coordinator in Lebanon, Ambassador Joana Wronecka, today at Baabda Palace.

President Aoun told Wronecka that Lebanon is committed to implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701 because it is willing to maintain stability and security on the southern borders.

The President pointed out that demarcation of the southern maritime border is the focus of follow-up after the recent visit of the American mediator in the indirect negotiations, Mr. Amos Hochstein, in light of the talks held with him during his stay in Lebanon.

During the meeting with Ambassador Wronecka, discussed the situation in the south, weeks before the report that the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, intends to submit to the Security Council on July 21.

The meeting also tackled demarcating southern maritime borders, in addition to the existing cooperation between Lebanon and the United Nations in several fields.

Chairperson of the Arab Network for National Human Rights Institutions:

President Aoun met the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Committee in Qatar and Chairperson of the Arab Network for National Human Rights Institutions, Mrs. Maryam bint Abdullah Al-Attiyah.

Attiyah was heading a delegation from the Committee, in the presence of the President of the National Commission for Human Rights in Lebanon, Dr. Fadi Gerges.

Mrs. Attiyah briefed the President on the purpose of her visit to Lebanon, which is to support the recently formed Lebanese Human Rights Commission and ways of cooperation between it and other bodies, as well as securing the appropriate conditions for its joining the Arab Network of National Human Rights Institutions.

Mrs. Attiyah also confirmed that Lebanon's presence within this network will enable it to interact with Arab institutions and coordinate cooperation in the field of human rights, expressing hope that the legal texts that sponsor the work of the Lebanese Commission will be completed to be ready to join the Arab network, as well as provide its needs to be able to carry out the required tasks.

For his part, President Aoun welcomed Mrs. Attiyah and the accompanying delegation, conveying his greetings to the Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and his appreciation for the support that Lebanon receives from the State of Qatar in all fields.

The President praised the work of Mrs. Attiyah through her presidency of the National Human Rights Committee in Qatar, the Arab Network of National Human Rights Institutions based in Doha, and the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions based in Geneva.

In addition, President Aoun expressed his hope that the existing cooperation between the Arab Network and the Lebanese Commission for Human Rights, which was established in 2016 and whose ten members were appointed in 2018, will bear fruit, and then the members of the National Committee for the Prevention of Torture in 2019.

Moreover, the President indicated that work is underway for the Lebanese National Commission to achieve all the conditions required for compliance with the Paris Principles of the United Nations and to become a member of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions.

Finally, President Aoun affirmed strenuous work to promote the rights of Lebanese women and the rights of children and people with special needs, despite the lack of resources.

On the other hand, Mrs. Attiyah affirmed that the Lebanese Authority will receive all support for its success in the tasks entrusted to it.

The delegation accompanying Mrs. Attiyah included: Mr. Sultan bin Hassan Al Jamali, Secretary General of the Arab Network of National Human Rights Institutions, Ghaffar Al Ali, Legal Adviser to the Arab Network, Amira Al Haddfa, Director of the International Cooperation Department at the National Human Rights Committee in Qatar, Mubarak Al Safran, Director of Mrs. Al Attiyah’s office, and Saif Al Yafei, Director of the office of the Secretary-General of the National Human Rights Committee in Qatar, and Hessa Al-Misnad, responsible for the Department of International Cooperation in the National Committee in Qatar.

Former Minister Shreim:

The President met former Minister, Ghada Shreim.

General affairs and conditions of the Lebanese University were discussed, in light of the continuation of distance education and the need to find appropriate solutions to return to attendance education.

Source: National News Agency