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Born at the Crest of the Empire

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

US, Europeans pushing for Chapter 7 on Hariri tribunal?

As the Lebanese government has been unable to establish an official mechanism to try the individuals implicated in the assassination of Rafiq Hariri, the US and allied Europeans have been pushing to create an external, UN based tribunal. The politics of this are complicated because of charges that the Syrian government is behind the assassination, but that Syrian involvement is the reason the US is pushing so very hard on this.

However, you have to wonder about the construction of the proposed US backed UN measure under the contentious Chapter 7.
The resolution would create a tribunal outside Lebanon with a majority of international judges and an international prosecutor under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which makes the measure unambiguously binding and allows enforcement, including the possibility of military action.

The Russians, Chinese and South Africans argue the Chapter 7 reference is unnecessary....

The US is pushing for a very hard for this version of the resolution which could include authorized measures of force of force by UN members to carry out the tribunal. (Would that include an operation, sanctions, or other measures against Syria?)

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