The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday okayed the creation of an international tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Al-Hariri.
Ten countries voted in favor of Resolution 1757, and five countries – China, Indonesia, Qatar, Russia and South Africa – abstained.
Al-Hariri, an outspoken critic of Syria’s involvement in Lebanon, was killed with 22 other people when a car bomb went off in Beirut in February 2005.
Damascus pulled forces out of the neighboring Lebanon in April that year due to the local and international pressure following his murder, ending a 29-year presence in the country.
The resolution gives Lebanon a last chance. It has until June 10 to establish the tribunal itself, but if it fails to do so, the U.N. Security Council can independently authorize a tribunal with international judges and an international prosecutor. The tribunal can be militarily enforced under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter.
An interim U.N. probe into the killing implicated Syria, but Damascus has strongly denied involvement in the murder.
Critics of the decision said the creation of a special court would violate Lebanon’s sovereignty, and that it could only be effective if the idea was supported by all Lebanese factions.
Lebanon’s army is currently engaged in a standoff with Islamists who have been holed up in a Palestinian refugee camp in the north of the country since May 20.
Some suggest the group’s actions are being orchestrated by Damascus in an attempt to further destabilize Lebanon.