Lebanon's Permanent Mission to UN issues statement clarifying recent remarks on Southern land borders

Lebanon's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York issued a statement in response to the remarks made by the Acting Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, Jean Murad, during the open debate held by the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East on July 27, 2023.

The statement read that Lebanon's borders are well-defined and internationally recognized based on the 1923 Paulet–Newcombe Agreement and the official maps pertaining to these borders have been deposited with the United Nations.

Additionally, the use of the term "completing the demarcation of the Southern land borders," as mentioned in the speech of the Lebanese representative, was an unintended expression and not an official document deposited in the records of the United Nations. 

It clarified that the intention was to demonstrate, prove, and confirm Israel's physical withdrawal to the internationally-drawn and UN-deposited borders. In other words, Israel's immediate and unconditional withdrawal from several points and areas still occupied within the internationally recognized Lebanese territory.

The statement reaffirmed that the mission, following the directives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, is committed in all UN meetings to expressing Lebanon's consensus on adhering to international legitimacy and all its resolutions, particularly those aimed at ending the occupation and Israeli violations.