UN doubts major Hezbollah rearming in south Lebanon 

By Louis Charbonneau 
May 20, 2009
Reuters
Original Source: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N20523795.htm

UNITED NATIONS, May 20 (Reuters) - It is highly unlikely that Lebanese Hezbollah militants have more weapons now in southern Lebanon than they did at the time of their 2006 war with Israel, the head of U.N. peacekeeping said on Wednesday. 
Israel says Hezbollah continues to increase its weapons stockpiles south of the Litani River where the 13,000-strong UNIFIL peacekeeping mission is charged with keeping out armed fighters and illicit weapons. 
I think it would be very difficult for Hezbollah to put additional weapons in the area, Alain Le Roy, the French head of the U.N. Department of Peacekeeping, told reporters. 
I don't speak of north of the Litani River, because there UNIFIL has no mandate, he said. But south of the Litani River, we consider it very unlikely. 
But Le Roy added that he could not be certain: We cannot give a 100 percent guarantee. 
Western diplomats have privately voiced concerns that the Shi'ite militant group has succeeded in replenishing its weapons caches and that UNIFIL has not been entirely effective in preventing weapons smuggling due to its limited mandate. 
Le Roy spoke of the limitations on UNIFIL's mandate, under which peacekeepers are there to assist the Lebanese army. For example, he said, UNIFIL lacks the authority to search houses for weapons unless they have clear evidence of hidden arms. 
UNIFIL has been in Lebanon since 1978 but was beefed up after the 2006 war. Security Council Resolution 1701, approved after the war ended, gave the force tougher rules of engagement to police the area south of the Litani River. 
However, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's March report on UNIFIL to the Security Council made clear that southern Lebanon remained problematic. 
The rocket attacks and the findings during the reporting period (late 2008 and early 2009) demonstrate that there are still weapons and hostile armed elements ready to use them within (UNIFIL's) area of operations, Ban said. 
Privately, several peacekeeping officials have acknowledged that UNIFIL's limited mandate probably prevented it from uncovering more weapons caches. However, they also said they believed the Israelis were exaggerating the extent to which Hezbollah was stockpiling arms south of the Litani River. 
UNIFIL's mandate is up for renewal in August. 
CUTTING COSTS 
Speaking about U.N. peacekeeping in general, Le Roy welcomed U.S. President Barack Obama's request for nearly $840 million for U.N. peacekeeping operations. He said it will be extremely significant if the funds are approved by the U.S. Congress. 
The United Nations has 18 peacekeeping missions with more than 100,000 troops and police in the field. Its budget has grown to more than $8 billion and demand for blue helmets continues to increase around the world. 
The peacekeeping department, Le Roy said, is trying to find ways to maximize the cost-effectiveness of its missions and is launching a review to see where it can reduce costs. He said the results would be published by the end of June. 
The purpose of the study is to see how we can cope with the new challenges we are facing, mostly in these big operations like Darfur and Congo, he said. 
The joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission in Sudan's conflict-ravaged western Darfur region is approaching two-thirds of its planned strength of 26,000 troops and police. The U.N. force in the Democratic Republic of Congo will reach 20,000 when it get troop reinforcements in the coming months. (Additional reporting by Megan Davies; editing by Mohammad Zargham)