Peacekeeping operations are carried out. This Saturday, April 18, Sergeant-Chef Florian Montorio from the 17th Parachute Engineering Regiment of Montauban was killed in southern Lebanon while deployed as part of an operation within the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Close to 8,200 military personnel from 47 different nations, including over 600 French troops, make up the UN peacekeeping forces.
UNIFIL, established by the UN Security Council, has been in Lebanon since March 1978 to “confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon, restore international peace and security, and assist the Lebanese government in re-establishing its effective authority in the region,” according to the UNIFIL website.
A Deterrence Power with No Intervention
The UN peacekeepers have the power of persuasion and deterrence but not intervention. The priority is to stabilize Lebanon and relay information back to the UN headquarters in New York. Their powers were expanded in 2006 with an agreement that states only UN peacekeeping forces and the Lebanese army can be deployed behind the “blue line,” the border between Israel and Lebanon.
UNIFIL is funded by all UN member states. Its annual budget reaches $550 million. However, its effectiveness is highly debated. For instance, Hezbollah has built tunnels beneath the blue line to cross into Israel. Since 1978, 343 UN peacekeepers have been killed in Lebanon. Incidents targeting them have increased since the beginning of the war in Iran. “Attacks” on these UN forces can constitute “war crimes,” warned António Guterres, the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General in 2024.
