New U.S. funds for Lebanon tribunal

In New York, Susan Rice just announced new U.S. funding for the beleaguered Lebanon special tribunal investigating the assassination of Rafiq Hariri. With rumors swirling about looming indictments, Hezbollah and Syria have been increasingly vocal in their opposition to the tribunal’s work and have warned that indictments could lead to violence. As if to reinforce ...

By , a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies.

In New York, Susan Rice just announced new U.S. funding for the beleaguered Lebanon special tribunal investigating the assassination of Rafiq Hariri. With rumors swirling about looming indictments, Hezbollah and Syria have been increasingly vocal in their opposition to the tribunal's work and have warned that indictments could lead to violence. As if to reinforce the point, several tribunal investigators were roughed up recently in Beirut. Rice argued today that there's no tension between peace and justice in the country.

In New York, Susan Rice just announced new U.S. funding for the beleaguered Lebanon special tribunal investigating the assassination of Rafiq Hariri. With rumors swirling about looming indictments, Hezbollah and Syria have been increasingly vocal in their opposition to the tribunal’s work and have warned that indictments could lead to violence. As if to reinforce the point, several tribunal investigators were roughed up recently in Beirut. Rice argued today that there’s no tension between peace and justice in the country.

The recent attack on three Tribunal staff members in Beirut is yet another attempt to create a false choice between justice and stability in Lebanon and to prevent the independent Tribunal from carrying out its Security Council mandate. We condemn such acts and again emphasize that efforts to discredit, hinder, or influence the Tribunal’s work must not be tolerated. The Tribunal must continue to operate according to the highest standards of judicial independence and integrity, and we have full confidence in its ability to do so. The establishment of the Tribunal was a clear signal that Lebanon’s sovereignty is non-negotiable.

David Bosco is a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of The Poseidon Project: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans. Twitter: @multilateralist

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