Mideast situation/Hariri assassination – Dispatch of Japanese personnel to UNIIIC – Japanese MOFA press release/Non-UN document (excerpts)

Dispatch of Japanese Personnel to the United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC) concerning the Assassination of Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri

1. The United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC) recently recruited three Metropolitan Police Department criminal identification experts to assist in the investigation of the assassination of Mr. Rafic Hariri, former Prime Minister of Lebanon. The commission was established in April this year in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolution 1595; its headquarters are in Beirut. The three experts will engage in various activities such as seeking to identify those responsible for the crime.

2. Japan strongly hopes that the participation of these Japanese personnel in the work of UNIIIC will help to ensure the independence and neutrality of the commission and throw further light on the case.

3. Japan has been closely watching the situation in the Middle East region including Lebanon from the standpoint that Japan's peace and prosperity is directly connected to the peace and stability in the region. The recent dispatch is one way Japan seeks to contribute to the stability of the Middle East region.