Security Council extends mandate of UN commission probing Hariri murder

The United Nations Security Council today extended for one year the mandate of the International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC) probing the 2005 terrorist attack that killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others.

In a unanimously adopted resolution, the Council responded to a request by the Lebanese Government, which sought an extension through 15 June 2008 of the mission’s mandate, set to expire on that date this year.

“The Lebanese Government hopes that Commissioner Serge Brammertz, who is doing a highly professional job at the head of the Commission, will continue in the exercise of his duties during the coming period,” Prime Minister Fuad Siniora wrote in a letter to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last month.

Mr. Brammertz, briefing the Council last week, said the IIIC has made “significant progress in several areas by further developing crime scene leads and expanding the forms of evidence relating to the perpetrators and building the linkage and context aspects of the case.”

At the same time, he cautioned that the IIIC needed more time to complete the investigations.

In his latest report to the Council, Mr. Brammertz said the inquiry is working towards a “unifying factual theory” behind the crime.

The report acknowledges the full support of the Lebanese Prosecutor General in the investigation, which is also probing other attacks in Lebanon since October 2004, including the murder last year of Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel.