Mr. President,

I am taking the floor on behalf of the European Union, Romania and Bulgaria. 

I would like to thank the members of the commission of inquiry for their valuable work and report. 

Mr. President, the EU is committed to support the legitimate and democratically elected government of Lebanon. 
We are concerned at the human suffering and widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure in Lebanon and Israel as a result of the last summer's conflict. The EU and its members have  contributed financially, materially and in form of technical assistance for the reconstruction and stabilisation effort of the government of Lebanon. Our pledge remains intact.  We count on Israel's cooperation in order to locate mines in Lebanon. 

Mr. President, the EU has expressed its utmost concern at the many civilian casualties in Lebanon, especially women and children. We note that the report refers to the fact that the mandate of the commission did not allow the examination of all of the aspects of the conflict or the consideration of the conduct of all parties. We regret this fact. We believe that a wider scope would  have contributed to presenting a more complete overview of actions during the conflict.  Nevertheless we appreciate the extensive work of the commission. 

I would like to ask the members of the commission the following questions:

1) You highlight the suffering of the children during and after the conflict and make some specific proposals in this respect? What according to you would be the most effective instrument in alleviating the suffering of the children from the human rights point of view in conflict situations?  

2) You describe extensively the situation in Lebanon and make a lot of proposals number of which fall within the sphere of International humanitarian law.  How, according to you, could  the International Human Rights law be best enforced and what in your opinion should be the main focus of a follow up procedure of Human Rights monitoring that you propose in your report?

Thank You Mr. President