62nd SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ___________________ Check Against Delivery ___________________ Statement by Mr. Ilan Fluss Counsellor Explanation of vote, before the vote, on resolution A/C.2/62/L.21 “Oil slick on Lebanese Shores” United Nations New York 7 December 2007 Madame Chairperson, The resolution before us, A/C.2/62L.21, “Oil slick on Lebanese Shores”, blatantly politicizes an issue of environmental concern, and paints Israel, once again, as an unjust aggressor. It joins the litany of other one-sided resolutions that flow out of the General Assembly each year. Most alarming, however, is that the resolution reflects the disturbing increase in politicization of the work of the Second Committee, a body that traditionally deals with matters of economic and developmental interest. Needless to say, these resolutions distract the Committee from addressing the issues of substance and importance. Madame Chairperson, The resolution, in both language and content, tellingly omits crucial details relating to the context of the events described. Whereas the resolution sees fit to note an environmental disaster caused by the Israeli air force on 15 July 2006, it apparently sees no reason to mention the 12 July 2006 provocation by Hizbullah – the entire reason for this conflict – when Hizbullah terrorists crossed an internationally recognized border into Israel and kidnapped and killed Israeli soldiers. Had the Government of Lebanon exercised its sovereignty, and fulfilled the conditions demanded of it by Security Council resolution 1559, there would have been no conflict, and there would have been no oil slick. But the Government of Lebanon was derelict in its duty. It irresponsibly allowed the growth of a “state within a state”, for which the peoples and land of Lebanon and Israel continue to pay the price. [The UNDP report commissioned after the Second Lebanon War concluded that the aggravated effects on environment and loss of income were bi-products of the conflict, which prevented the Conventions that cover oil pollution from being fully implemented, as they are inapplicable during armed hostilities. Similarly, the report noted Lebanon’s own lack of necessary infrastructures which prevented adequate response. Additionally, it is known that the agreements relating to spill compensation pertain only to oil spills from tanker vessels at sea, and not land-based incidents.] Madame Chairperson, This is not to say there is no reason for concern regarding the environmental health and vitality of Lebanon’s coast. But in reality, on the ground and in ways that accomplish far more than this resolution, professional agencies – including UN bodies such as UNEP – have worked to assess and address the situation. Israel supported these efforts, and worked with international agencies and NGOs to allow access to the area and assist in ways that it could. The resolution – not surprisingly – fails to mention that cooperation. Moreover, if this resolution was so earnest in its desire to address the development ramifications of the conflict, it would have undoubtedly mentioned the more then half a million trees and 52,000 dunams of planted and natural forests in Israel that were burnt down as a result of fires caused by Hizbullah rockets, and other damage and pollution caused to Israeli land, air, and water. The omission of these environmental catastrophes in Israel proves that this resolution is an act of political demonization. Similarly, the call for a new mechanism, which duplicates work already underway, signals the desire to erect yet another permanent installation of anti-Israelism in this world body, and an utter disregard for the already heavy financial burden carried by the membership. Madame Chairperson, There have been many environmental accidents and oil slicks in recent history with far greater damage caused to the environment and natural resources. Since 1991, 11 oil spills of equal or greater tonnage than the one in Lebanon 2006 have occurred, with no resolution or action from this Committee. Some of them, such as the one in off Angola in 1991, or the one in the Uzbekistan portion of the Fergana Valley in 1992, exceeded fifteen times the tonnage of the Lebanon slick. None of these environmental catastrophes warranted a UN resolution, while the one in front of us apparently did. The political motivation behind this resolution is obvious to us all. This overt politicization and biased against Israel is unacceptable. My delegation calls for a vote, and urges Member States who believe in authentically addressing the challenges and responsibilities of the Second Committee to distance themselves from yet another shameful act of partisan politicking. Thank You, Madame Chairperson.   1