Lebanon urges UN to raise funds to support Hariri court | United Nations News

A court tasked with judging those responsible for the assassination of a former Lebanese Prime Minister in 2005 could close due to lack of funding.

Lebanon has called on the UN Secretary-General in a letter to urgently investigate ways to raise funds for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), which has been tasked with investigating the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, citing economic woes.

“The Lebanese government is grateful to His Excellency for promptly exploring various sources of funding for the Supreme Court and the Security Council and other countries,” Hassan Diab, the country’s prime minister, said in a letter on Friday.

A special report by Reuters last week revealed that a UN tribunal, set up by the 2007 Security Council, lacked funding for the economic and political crisis in Lebanon, which threatens future trials.

The court, which is 51% funded by voluntary contributions and 49% by the Lebanese government, could close after July if a lack of funding could not be resolved.

Last year, a court in The Hague found that Salim Jamil Ayyash, a former Shia militant, Hezbollah, had not been found guilty of a bomb attack that killed former Sunni Muslim soldier Hariri and 21 others.

The second trial is set to begin on June 16, with Ayyash charged with the murder and torture of Lebanese politicians between 2004 and 2005.

But on Thursday, judges in the court dismissed the new case in anticipation of closing.

Lebanon is in the throes of an economic crisis that threatens its stability.

The crisis, which began in late 2019, has ended unemployment, impoverished more than half of the population and cost about 90% of the total income.

Rafik Hariri’s son, Saad Hariri, is now Lebanon’s Prime Minister, but has failed to agree on a cabinet reshuffle with President Michel Aoun, which has left the country in a state of disarray since last year.

“As we reaffirm our unwavering commitment to STL, we strongly believe that financial constraints should not hinder the completion of its work until the end,” said Diab.