Una scommessa per la pace. La missione UNIFIL e l'impegno italiano in Libano ; A bet for peace. UNIFIL mission and Italian engagement in Lebanon

UNIFIL II, ITALBATT ; Well before 2006, when UNIFIL II was established through UN Security Council Resolution 1701, Italy has been engaged in Lebanon, bringing its contribution to end the hostilities and keep the peace between the two neighbours: Israel and Lebanon. Already in UNIFIL I and in the Multinational Force in Lebanon (MFL), the Italian battalion has brought an invaluable contribution to the mission, creating an Italian model of the missions abroad. This custom still continues today: in UNIFIL II, ITALBATT currently has a leading role, both in the field of cooperation and in the military sector. As far as cooperation is concerned, thanks to the several projects carried out by the CIMIC – Civil and Military Cooperation – Unit, with particular attention on the Quick Impact Projects, Italy contributes to satisfy the very basic needs of the population such as education, health and infrastructures. In the military sector, all the strategic operations that our battalion carries out, together with the particular attention that ITALBATT has always given to the psychological side of the mission, make Italy one of the most important contributors to UNIFIL. The report aims to explore the main activities and the contribution that Italy has given and is still giving to UNIFIL, highlighting the importance that the Italian soldiers have in the acceptance of the UN mission by the Lebanese population.