According to reports by the BBC, the UN has repeatedly ignored requests from bereaved families for information to help the official investigation into the Beirut port explosion.
Namely, according to BBC Middle East correspondent Anna Foster, the probe has been “beset by delays, rows and recriminations.”
In fact, the official investigation has been suspended several times as senior political figures who were called to give evidence made complaints.
This lack of progress has led to international criticism, but the BBC notes that UN, that could have helped, has ignored requests.
More specifically, one week after the explosion it called for “a prompt and independent investigation that leads to justice and accountability”. However, BBC reports that when bereaved families asked for information to help that very inquiry, the UN did no’t reply.
Moreover, the Beirut Bar Association, that represents nearly 2,000 families and survivors at the investigation, sent three letters directly to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, asking for some specific details.
The letter requested all available satellite photos taken on the day of the blast by member states, as well as whether Unifil (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) checked the MV Rhosus – the ship that carried the explosive material which caused the explosion.
Last week Russia said its space agency Roscosmos was preparing to deliver images of the blast site, after a request from the Lebanese president, Michel Aoun.
Commenting on the letter, Aya Majzoub, Lebanon Researcher with Human Rights Watch, stated that:
I asked the UN about these letters, and why none of the three had even been acknowledged. The secretary general’s office told me the UN is committed to supporting the Lebanese people, and has mobilised to help the victims. But it didn’t explain why those specific letters had simply been ignored, only saying it focused on answering those from officials
