Sixty-first session
	Second Committee
Agenda item 53 (a)
Sustainable development: implementation of Agenda 21,
the Programme for the Further Implementation of 
Agenda 21 and the outcomes of the World Summit on 
Sustainable Development



		South Africa:* draft resolution


		Oil slick on Lebanese shores


	The General Assembly,
	Reaffirming the outcome of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm from 5 to 16 June 1972, especially principle 7, which requested States to take all possible steps to prevent pollution of the seas,
	Emphasizing the need to protect and preserve the marine environment in accordance with international law, 
	Taking into account the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, especially principle 16, which stipulates that the polluter should, in principle, bear the cost of pollution, and taking also into account chapter 17 of Agenda 21,
	Noting with great concern the environmental disaster caused by the destruction by the Israeli Air Force on 15 July 2006 of the oil storage tanks in the direct vicinity of the El-Jiyeh electric power plant in Lebanon, causing an oil slick that covered the entirety of the Lebanese coastline and extended beyond,
	Noting with appreciation the assistance offered by donor countries and international organizations for the early recovery and reconstruction of Lebanon through bilateral and multilateral channels, including the Stockholm donor Conference for Lebanon’s Early Recovery, held on 31 August 2006,
	1.	Expresses its deep concern over the adverse implications of the Israeli military attacks on the achievement of sustainable development in Lebanon;
	2.	Considers that the oil slick has heavily polluted the shores of Lebanon and consequently has serious implications for human health, biodiversity and fisheries, and tourism, all three of which in turn have serious implications for livelihoods and the economy of Lebanon;
	3.	Calls upon the Government of Israel to assume its responsibility, in accordance with international law, to adequately compensate the Government of Lebanon, based on principle 16 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development,_Ref150252016 \h  \* MERGEFORMAT 2 which stipulates that the polluter should, in principle, bear the cost of pollution;
	4.	Invites Member States, regional and international organizations, regional and international financial institutions, and non-governmental organizations and the private sector to provide financial and technical assistance to the Government of Lebanon in supporting its efforts to clean up Lebanon’s polluted shores and sea with a view to preserving its ecosystem;
	5.	Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its sixty-second session a report on the implementation of the present resolution under the item entitled “Sustainable development”.

	*	On behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the Group of 77 and China.
	 	See Report of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm, 5-16 June 1972 (A/CONF.48/14/Rev.1), part one, chap. I.
	 	Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, 
3-14 June 1992, vol. I, Resolutions Adopted by the Conference (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.93.I.8 and corrigendum), resolution 1, annex I.
	 	Ibid., annex II.

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 United Nations
A/C.2/61/L.23
 
 General Assembly
Distr.: Limited
1 November 2006

Original: English



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