Ƶ

Who is Nawaf Salam, the top UN judge appointed as Lebanon’s new prime minister?

Special Who is Nawaf Salam, the top UN judge appointed as Lebanon’s new prime minister?
Lebanon's new prime minister, Nawaf Salam, has been tasked to form a government to pull the war-scarred country out of economic crisis, after two years of a caretaker government. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 16 January 2025

Who is Nawaf Salam, the top UN judge appointed as Lebanon’s new prime minister?

Who is Nawaf Salam, the top UN judge appointed as Lebanon’s new prime minister?
  • Nawaf Salam’s appointment as Lebanon’s new prime minister reflects Hezbollah’s declining political influence
  • Broad international backing, including from Ƶ and the EU, raises hope for reform and much-needed funding

DUBAI: From the halls of a top UN courthouse to steering a nation in turmoil, Nawaf Salam has been named as Lebanon’s new prime minister, signaling a shift in the political landscape toward consensus after two years of paralysis.

Salam, 71, a former president of the International Court of Justice at The Hague, arrived in Beirut on Tuesday tasked with forming a new government capable of implementing reforms to pull Lebanon out of the economic mire and spearhead postwar recovery.

He was nominated after securing 84 votes from the 128-member legislature, compared to nine votes for Najib Mikati, the caretaker prime minister, during consultations with parliamentary blocs on Monday led by Lebanon’s new President Joseph Aoun.




Lebanon's new President Joseph Aoun (C) and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (L) meeting with the new prime minister-designate Nawaf Salam (R) at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, on January 14, 2025. (Lebanese presidency handout photo/AFP)

Thirty-four legislators abstained, opting instead for a “non-designation” stance after it became clear Mikati would lose.

Salam’s nomination was another strong indication of an emerging political consensus in Lebanon after last week’s election of army chief Aoun as president ended a two-year power vacuum.

Like Aoun, Salam does not hail from the country’s traditional political class or follow any political bloc.

The outcome was seen as a reflection of a growing momentum behind addressing Lebanon’s chronic governance challenges, restoring hope in the possibility of breaking the nation’s political gridlock amid a deeply divided parliament.




Lebanese people gather at Martyrs' Square in Beirut on January 13, 2025, in support of the nomination of former ICJ judge Nawaf Salam as prime minister of Lebanon. (AFP)

The choice of Salam also underscored the significant shift that has taken place in the balance of power among Lebanon’s sectarian factions in which the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia had long held sway.

Lawmakers from Hezbollah and its Shiite ally, the Amal Movement, failed to rally behind Mikati or delay the consultative process, which could have disrupted Salam’s designation.

In past years, Hezbollah has repeatedly blocked Salam from becoming prime minister, casting him as a US-backed candidate.

His appointment over Mikati, who is backed by the Hezbollah-led alliance, reflected the militia’s declining influence following its recent pummeling by Israel and the toppling of its Syrian regime ally Bashar Assad in December.

Hezbollah and Amal’s decision to abstain, without explicitly naming an alternative candidate, indicated they currently do not intend to participate in Salam’s government.




Hezbollah lawmaker Mohammad Raad speaks after meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, on January 13, 2025. (REUTERS)

Salam won the backing of Christian and Druze factions, as well as prominent Sunni MPs, including Hezbollah allies and opponents who have long demanded the militant group give up its powerful arsenal, arguing it has undermined the state.

In a surprising turn, the Lebanese Forces announced their decision to withdraw the nomination of MP Fouad Makhzoumi for prime minister-designate and back Salam instead.

Signaling his satisfaction with the decision, Makhzoumi said: “Having multiple opposition candidates will inevitably lead to everyone losing.”

Salam’s prospects were further strengthened by the withdrawal of MP Ibrahim Mneimneh, who cited the need for consensus to address Lebanon’s many challenges during what he called a “foundational and transitional” phase.

In another unexpected development, Free Patriotic Movement leader Gebran Bassil declared his support for Salam’s nomination as prime minister.




Gebran Bassil, leader of the Christian party Free Patriotic Movement, speaks after meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, on January 13, 2025. (REUTERS)

Sunni MPs, the Kataeb party’s bloc, the Renewal Bloc, Change MPs and several independents initially supportive of Makhzoumi and Mneimneh, shifted their votes to Salam.

Salam’s background in law and diplomacy has bolstered his image as a figure of professionalism and integrity, resonating well with widespread calls for reform.

The prime minister-designate holds a doctorate in political science from France’s prestigious Sciences Po university as well as a doctorate in history from the Sorbonne. He also has a Master of Laws degree from Harvard Law School.

Salam hails from a prominent Sunni family from Beirut. His late paternal uncle, Saeb Salam, was one of the Lebanese leaders who fought for the country’s independence from France and later served as prime minister four times between 1952 and 1973.




This photo taken on September 28, 2011, shows Nawaf Salam (L), Lebanon's ambassador to the UN, with Riyad Mansour (R), Palestine ambassador to the UN, ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on the Palestinian request for full United Nations membership. (AFP file)

His cousin, Tammam Salam, also served as prime minister for two years in 2014-16.

Salam’s father, Abdullah Salim Salam, was the founder of Lebanon’s national airline, while his grandfather, Abi Salam, served as mayor and deputy of Beirut during the Ottoman era and was a leading advocate for reform.

Salam began his career in 1984 as a lawyer in several Lebanese courts, serving as a legal adviser to several local legal bodies and as a legal representative for international organizations until 2007.

In parallel, he pursued an academic path starting in 1979 as a lecturer at the Sorbonne, specializing in the modern history of the Middle East.




In this photo taken on September 23, 2011, then Lebanese Ambassador to UN Nawaf Salam is shown acknowledging that he received, as head of the Security Council, a formal request from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for the state of Palestine to become a full member of the UN. (AFP file)

He later became a visiting fellow at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and a lecturer at the American University of Beirut where he taught international law and relations, served as a visiting professor and associate professor in political science, and rose to become the head of the Department of Political Studies and Public Administration in 2007.

Salam is also an accomplished author, with contributions in law, international law, history, and political science.

In 2007, he was named Lebanon’s permanent representative to the UN in New York, where he served for 10 years. During his tenure, Salam presided over the 67th session of the UN Security Council and served as vice president of the General Assembly until 2013, where he became an advocate for Lebanon’s vital interests and broader Arab and international issues.




In this photo taken on July 19, 2024, Nawaf Salam 2nd R), judge and president of the International Court of Justice, delivers a non-binding ruling on the legal consequences of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem at the ICJ in The Hague. (AFP)

In 2018, Salam became a judge at the ICJ and, in February last year, was elected president of the court, becoming the first Lebanese citizen to hold the post.

He took over the court’s presidency as it held its first hearing in 2024 on a case filed by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza, which Israel has dismissed as baseless. He is set to be replaced by Ugandan judge Julia Sebutinde, who will now oversee the case.

During his tenure at the ICJ, Salam issued a historic advisory opinion condemning the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and called for the halt of the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Earlier, Salam played a significant role in electoral reform during his three-year tenure as a member of the executive office of Lebanon’s Economic and Social Council and as a rapporteur in the National Commission for Electoral Law Reform until 2005.




Lebanon's new Prime Minister Nawaf Salam faces the challenge of rebuilding areas damaged by Israeli airstrikes during its war with Hezbollah. (AFP)

Salam now faces one of the biggest challenges of his career as he begins consultations with MPs to form a new cabinet.

Lebanese political leaders and President Aoun, in his inaugural address, have emphasized that the new government must be built on national unity to address the urgent needs of the Lebanese people and navigate the country’s dire economic, social, and political crises.

Rebuilding areas damaged by Israeli airstrikes during its war with Hezbollah and implementing reforms to satisfy international donors amid the country’s worst economic crisis in its history are the top priorities ahead of Salam.




Another key challenge facing PM Nawaf Salam is the disarmament of the Hezbollah militia, whose war with Israel has brought about massive deaths and destruction to Lebanon. (AFP photo)

One of the most sensitive tasks is the disarmament of Hezbollah, consolidating all weapons under state institutions in accordance with national laws and as pledged by Aoun in his inaugural address.

Salam’s government will need to craft new political understandings to redefine Lebanon’s approach to Hezbollah. This includes guiding the militia’s transition from its historical reliance on Iranian and Syrian ties to a framework that prioritizes national interests.

Deploying the Lebanese army to reclaim full sovereignty over national borders and to secure the return of territories occupied by Israel — particularly those seized during the recent conflict — will be critical.




A convoy of Lebanese army military vehicles is seen entering the southern Lebanese coastal town of Naqura, on the border with Israel on January 7, 2025, after Israel's withdrawal from the area as part of the ceasefire agreement between the two countries. (AFP)

These efforts will involve leveraging regional and international support to implement UN Resolution 1701, which mandates an end to hostilities with Israel under international law.

Salam’s appointment has already garnered widespread backing, particularly from Ƶ, alongside other Arab nations, Western allies, the Arab League, and the UN, which have expressed their commitment to Lebanon’s democratic process and the incoming government.

Shortly after the announcement of the new prime minister, Mikati called Salam to congratulate him and wish him success in his mission to form a new administration.




Lebanon's new Prime Minister Nawaf Salam (L) speaks with the country's outgoing Prime Minister Najib Mikati during their meeting in Beirut on January 14, 2025.(AFP)

Mikati said his caretaker government, which navigated Lebanon during a tumultuous period, had laid the foundations for postwar recovery through issuing draft laws ready for parliamentary approval and preparing reform projects.

He stressed the need for unity and consensus to lead the next phase for Lebanon.

“Past experiences have shown that there is no alternative to consensus and that an approach of defiance has cost us many opportunities for recovery,” Mikati said. “The challenges we face are undoubtedly great, but the will of our people is stronger.”

Congratulating Salam, EU Ambassador to Lebanon Sandra De Waele called for a swift government formation to launch much-needed reforms and revive state institutions.

The regional and international backing for Salam’s designation is likely to lead to a flow of funds from Western and Arab nations, crucial in helping his new cabinet in the reconstruction process and Lebanon’s recovery.


Lebanese president rules out normalization with Israel: statement

Lebanese president rules out normalization with Israel: statement
Updated 32 sec ago

Lebanese president rules out normalization with Israel: statement

Lebanese president rules out normalization with Israel: statement
BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun ruled out normalization between his country and Israel on Friday, while expressing hope for peaceful relations with Beirut’s southern neighbor, which still occupies parts of southern Lebanon.
Aoun’s statement is the first official reaction to Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar’s statement last week in which he expressed his country’s interest in normalizing ties with Lebanon and Syria.
Aoun “distinguished between peace and normalization,” according to a statement shared by the presidency.
“Peace is the lack of a state of war, and this is what matters to us in Lebanon at the moment. As for the issue of normalization, it is not currently part of Lebanese foreign policy,” the president said in front of a delegation from an Arab think tank.
Lebanon and Syria have technically been in a state of war with Israel since 1948, with Damascus saying that talks of normalization were “premature.”
The president called on Israel to withdraw from the five points near the border it still occupies. Israel was required to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon under a November ceasefire seeking to end its war with Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Aoun said that Israeli troops in Lebanon “obstruct the complete deployment of the army up to the internationally recognized borders.”
According to the ceasefire agreement, Hezbollah must pull its fighters north of the Litani River, around 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border with Israel, leaving the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers as the only armed parties in the area.
The United States has been calling on Lebanon to fully disarm Hezbollah, and Lebanese authorities sent their response to Washington’s demand this week.
The response was not made public, but Aoun stated that Beirut was determined to “hold the monopoly over weapons in the country.”
The implementation of this move “will take into account the interest of the state and its security stability to preserve civil peace on one hand, and national unity on the other,” hinting that Hezbollah’s disarmament will not be done through force.
Hezbollah, a powerful political force in Lebanon, is the only non-state actor to have officially retained its weaponry after the end of Lebanon’s 15-year civil war in 1990, as parts of southern Lebanon were still under Israeli occupation at the time.
The Lebanese group was heavily weakened following its year-long hostilities with Israel, which escalated into a two-month war in September.

798 people killed while receiving aid in Gaza, says UN human rights office

798 people killed while receiving aid in Gaza, says UN human rights office
Updated 11 July 2025

798 people killed while receiving aid in Gaza, says UN human rights office

798 people killed while receiving aid in Gaza, says UN human rights office
  • Killings both at aid points run by the US- and Israeli-backed group and near humanitarian convoys run by other relief bodies

GENEVA: The UN human rights office said on Friday that it had recorded at least 798 killings both at aid points run by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and near humanitarian convoys run by other relief groups, including the UN

The GHF uses private US security and logistics companies to get supplies into Gaza, largely bypassing a UN-led system that Israel says had let militants divert aid.

The United Nations has called the plan “inherently unsafe” and a violation of humanitarian impartiality rules.

“Up until the seventh of July, we’ve recorded now 798 killings, including 615 in the vicinity of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites, and 183 presumably on the route of aid convoys,” OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.

The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May and has repeatedly denied that incidents had occurred at its sites.


Kurdish PKK militants begin handing over weapons in cave in Iraq

Kurdish PKK militants begin handing over weapons in cave in Iraq
Updated 11 July 2025

Kurdish PKK militants begin handing over weapons in cave in Iraq

Kurdish PKK militants begin handing over weapons in cave in Iraq
  • Disarmament ceremony marks a turning point in the transition of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party from armed insurgency to democratic politics
  • Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan said peace efforts with the Kurds would gain momentum after the PKK begin laying down its weapons

SULAYMANIYAH, Iraq: Dozens of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants began handing over weapons in a ceremony in a cave in northern Iraq on Friday, officials said, marking a symbolic but significant step toward ending a decades-long insurgency against Turkiye.

Helicopters hovered above the mountain where the disarmament process got underway, with dozens of Iraqi Kurdish security forces surrounding the area, a Reuters witness said.

The PKK, locked in conflict with the Turkish state and outlawed since 1984, decided in May to disband, disarm and end its separatist struggle after a public call to do so from its long-imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan.

After a series of failed peace efforts, the new initiative could pave the way for Ankara to end an insurgency that has killed over 40,000 people, burdened the economy and wrought deep social and political divisions in Turkiye and the wider region.

The ceremony was held inside the Jasana cave in the town of Dukan, 60 kilometers northwest of Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan region of Iraq’s north, according to an Iraqi security official and another regional government official.

Around 40 PKK militants and one commander were to hand over their weapons, people familiar with the plan said. It was unclear when further handovers would take place.

The PKK has been based in northern Iraq after being pushed well beyond Turkiye’s southeastern frontier in recent years. Turkiye’s military has regularly carried out operations and strikes on PKK bases in the region and established several military outposts there.

No footage of the ceremony has been made available yet, but Turkish broadcasters have been showing the crowds gathered near Sulaymaniyah and landscapes of the mountainous region as part of their coverage of what they said was a historic moment.

The arms are to be destroyed later in another ceremony attended by Turkish and Iraqi intelligence figures, officials of Iraq’s Kurdistan regional government, and senior members of Turkiye’s pro-Kurdish DEM party – which also played a key role in facilitating the PKK’s disarmament decision.

Next steps

The PKK, DEM and Ocalan have all called on Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s government to address Kurdish demands for more rights in regions where Kurds form a majority, particularly the southeast where the insurgency was concentrated.

In a rare online video published on Wednesday, Ocalan also urged Turkiye’s parliament to set up a commission to oversee disarmament and manage the broader peace process.

Ankara has taken steps toward forming the commission, while the DEM and Ocalan have said that legal assurances and certain mechanisms were needed to smooth the PKK’s transition into democratic politics.

Omer Celik, a spokesman for Erdogan’s AK Party, said the disarmament process should not be allowed to drag on longer than a few months to avoid it becoming subject to provocations.

Erdogan has said the disarmament will enable the rebuilding of Turkiye’s southeast.

Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek has said Turkiye spent nearly $1.8 trillion over the past five decades combating terrorism, endorsing the peace steps as an economic boon.

The end of NATO member Turkiye’s conflict with the PKK could have consequences across the region, including in neighboring Syria where the United States is allied with Syrian Kurdish forces that Ankara deems a PKK offshoot.

Washington and Ankara want those Kurds to quickly integrate with Syria’s security structure, which has been undergoing reconfiguration since the fall in December of autocratic President Bashar Assad. PKK disarmament could add to this pressure, analysts say.


Gaza civil defense says Israeli strikes kill six

Gaza civil defense says Israeli strikes kill six
Updated 11 July 2025

Gaza civil defense says Israeli strikes kill six

Gaza civil defense says Israeli strikes kill six
  • In central Gaza on Friday, the Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat said it received several casualties after Israeli forces had opened fire at civilians near an aid distribution point

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Gaza’s civil defense agency said Israeli strikes on Friday killed at least six people in the Palestinian territory’s north, including five at a school-turned-shelter.

“Five martyrs and others injured in an Israeli strike on Halima Al-Saadia School, which was sheltering displaced persons in Jabalia Al-Nazla, northern Gaza,” the agency said in a brief statement.

In a separate strike on Gaza City, to the south, the agency said at least one person was killed and several others wounded.

In central Gaza on Friday, the Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat said it received several casualties after Israeli forces had opened fire at civilians near an aid distribution point.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has recently intensified its operations in the Gaza Strip as the war against Hamas militants entered its 22nd month.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency and other parties.

A Palestinian speaking to AFP from southern Gaza on condition of anonymity said there were ongoing attacks and widespread devastation, with Israeli tanks seen near the city of Khan Yunis.

“The situation remains extremely difficult in the area – intense gunfire, intermittent air strikes, artillery shelling and ongoing bulldozing and destruction of displacement camps and agricultural land to the south, west and north of Al-Maslakh,” an area to Khan Yunis’s south, said the witness.


Francesca Albanese, UN investigator and critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza, shocked by US sanctions

Francesca Albanese, UN investigator and critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza, shocked by US sanctions
Updated 11 July 2025

Francesca Albanese, UN investigator and critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza, shocked by US sanctions

Francesca Albanese, UN investigator and critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza, shocked by US sanctions
  • Francesca Albanese: The powerful are trying to silence me for defending those without any power of their own
  • Albanese accuses US officials of receiving Israeli leader with honor and standing side-by-side with someone facing an arrest warrant

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina: An independent UN investigator and outspoken critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza said Thursday that “it was shocking” to learn that the Trump administration had imposed sanctions on her but defiantly stood by her view on the war.

Francesca Albanese said in an interview with The Associated Press that the powerful were trying to silence her for defending those without any power of their own, “other than standing and hoping not to die, not to see their children slaughtered.”

“This is not a sign of power, it’s a sign of guilt,” the Italian human rights lawyer said.

The State Department’s decision to impose sanctions on Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, followed an unsuccessful US pressure campaign to force the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, the UN’s top human rights body, to remove her from her post.

She is tasked with probing human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories and has been vocal about what she has described as the “genocide” by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza. Both Israel and the US have strongly denied that accusation.

“Albanese’s campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on social media. “We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defense.”

The US announced the sanctions Wednesday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was visiting Washington to meet with President Donald Trump and other officials about reaching a ceasefire deal in the war in Gaza. Netanyahu faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, which accuses him of crimes against humanity in his military offensive in Gaza.

In the interview, Albanese accused American officials of receiving Netanyahu with honor and standing side-by-side with someone wanted by the ICC, a court that neither the US nor Israel is a member of or recognizes. Trump imposed sanctions on the court in February.

“We need to reverse the tide, and in order for it to happen – we need to stand united,” she said. “They cannot silence us all. They cannot kill us all. They cannot fire us all.”

Albanese stressed that the only way to win is to get rid of fear and to stand up for the Palestinians and their right to an independent state.

The Trump administration’s stand “is not normal,” she said at the Sarajevo airport. She also defiantly repeated, “No one is free until Palestine is free.”

Albanese was en route to Friday’s 30th anniversary commemoration of the 1995 massacre in Srebrenica where more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys in a UN-protected safe zone were killed when it was overrun by Bosnian Serbs.

The United Nations, Human Rights Watch and the Center for Constitutional Rights opposed the US move.

“The imposition of sanctions on special rapporteurs is a dangerous precedent” and “is unacceptable,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

While Albanese reports to the Human Rights Council – not Secretary-General Antonio Guterres – the US and any other UN member are entitled to disagree with reports by the independent rapporteurs, “but we encourage them to engage with the UN human rights architecture.”

Trump announced the US was withdrawing from the council in February.

The war between Israel and Hamas began Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel and killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 people captive. Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which says women and children make up most of the dead but does not specify how many were fighters or civilians.

Nearly 21 months into the conflict that displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, the UN says hunger is rampant after a lengthy Israeli blockade on food entering the territory and medical care is extremely limited.