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Middle East | 41Recent DevelopmentsIn May 2008 political tensions between thegovernment and Hezbollah, which among otherthings prevented the country’s presidentialelections, escalated and resulted in the worst violencesince the end of the civil war in 1990. Thefighting ended the same month after a powersharingpact was reached that gave Hezbollah moreseats in government, and Lebanon’s parliamentelected General Michel Suleiman as president on25 May 2008. While in June 2009, parliamentaryelections were held, the creation of a national unitygovernment was delayed – because of disagreementsover power-sharing arrangements between thefactions – until November 2009 when Saad Hariri,the son of assassinated Prime Minister RafikHariri, assumed the post of prime minister.Lebanon’s confessional system of basing politicalrepresentation on ethnic and religious identity continuesto both undergird the political system andcontribute to factionalization and political tensionsbetween Shi’is, Sunnis, Christians and Druze.In the lead up to the 2009 parliamentaryelections, UNSCOL used good offices to communicatewith Lebanese parties to maintain stabilityduring the electoral process and assisted UNDP inproviding technical support to the elections. In thiscapacity, UNSCOL established an “electoral forum”to brief relevant parties on the functioning of theelectoral process as well as technical aspects of theelection and gather donor support. The forum hasbeen well received both by the Lebanese governmentand the international community and hascontinued its work in preparations for the May2010 municipal elections.Since the establishment of the national unitygovernment and other national institutions followingthe June 2009 elections, the UN’s role in offeringgood offices to the Lebanese in support of domesticstability may be less immediately relevant. The UNt<strong>here</strong>fore focuses on working with the new governmenton state building and broader reform challenges.In its mandated Resolution 1701 capacity,UNSCOL has helped to de-escalate tense situationsand re-establish the informal truce betweenLebanon and Israel on numerous occasions. Recentexamples include responding swiftly alongsideUNIFIL to inadvertent border crossings on bothsides of the Blue Line 12 by local shepherds andothers and acting as a go-between for the Israeliand Lebanese government to de-escalate tensionsand provide factual analysis. 13 In terms of theimplementation of the objectives Resolution 1701,several areas have seen little to no progress in thepast year. In terms of the delineation of internationalborders, the status of Ghajar, a divided villageon the Lebanon border, and Shebaa farms remainsunsettled with prospects for a breakthrough in thenext year unlikely. Another objective of 1701, thedisarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon otherthan armed forces under authority of the Lebanese,presents a sizeable challenge as Hezbollah’s hold onthe South has not decreased and it is now part of thenational unity government. However, UNSCOL’sability to talk to all Lebanese factions, includingHezbollah, allows the mission latitude in providinga “go-between” role for all parties to the conflict. Inturn, UNSCOL’s Israeli interlocutors on resolution1701 value its access and analysis.CoordinationIn keeping with UN efforts to strengthen missionintegration with other UN field presences, UNS-COL has, in consultation with the UN CountryTeam (UNCT), established working groups 14 infour key areas of development and political missionoverlap: Palestinian Issues, Human Rights,Governance & Elections, Regional Disparities &Borders. Of these four groups, the latter has themost successful coordination between the politicalaspects of UNSCOL and the UNCT. The securityof Lebanon’s borders and other entry points are keyprovisions of Resolution 1701 to prevent the entryof arms and related materiel without the consent ofthe government. As controlling illegal arms trafficon the borders is not simply a matter of policing,but has a socio-economic basis, the cooperationbetween the UNCT and Lebanese Armed Forces,facilitated by UNSCOL, has been essential. Theworking group on Regional Disparities & Bordersconducted a socio-economic survey of the bordercommunities and Special Coordinator Williamshas marshaled key donors such as the US, UK, Germany,Denmark and the EU to create a commonborder position and raise funds for technical andfinancial assistance. The Secretary-General has alsotwice dispatched a team of border security experts(the Lebanon Independent Border Assessment