UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has extended for three years the mandate of the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), which is tasked to prosecute perpetrators of an attack in February 2005 in Beirut, said his spokesman on Friday.
The mandate has been extended till March 1, 2021, or upon the completion of the cases before the tribunal if sooner, said Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric in a statement.
STL, based in The Hague, the Netherlands, is an independent tribunal set up at the request of the Lebanese government to hold trials for those accused of carrying out the attack on Feb. 14, 2005 in Beirut, which killed 22 people, including former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
The secretary-general reaffirmed the commitment of the United Nations to support the work of the tribunal in the fight against impunity for such major crimes, in order to bring those responsible to justice, said the statement.
