Peacekeepers wearing uniforms from 49 different countries expressed their commitment to peace and stability as they marked the International Day of Peace in Naqoura, south Lebanon today.

Hosted by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) at its headquarters, the ceremony brought together Lebanese political representatives, including Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab; local authorities; religious leaders; the Lebanese Armed Forces; security forces; U.N. officials, including Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka; and members of the international community.

The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka called Thursday for safeguarding Lebanon as a space for democracy, human rights, coexistence, plurality, and freedoms.

"By its very constitution, Lebanon stands forth as a beacon of inter-faith co-existence,” she said, on the occasion of the International Day of Peace.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has held a joint meeting in New York with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

UNRWA continues to respond to urgent needs of displaced families forced to flee the Ain el-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon, the largest in the country, a statement said. UNRWA is currently hosting 800 people in four of its shelters.

The Free Patriotic Movement on Wednesday said it welcomes dialogue aimed at electing a new president on the condition that it be “limited to the issue of presidential elections and the president’s program and characteristics.”

Disagreements between the U.S. and France in the five-nation committee on Lebanon prevented the issuance of a statement after a meeting called for by Paris at the U.N. headquarters in New York, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad said overnight.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Tuesday reiterated his rejection of dialogue over the presidential file, calling on Speaker Nabih Berri to immediately call for “an open session with multiple rounds to elect a president.”

Qatari Ambassador to Lebanon Sheikh Saud bin Abdul Rahman Al-Thani met Tuesday in Yarze with Army Commander General Joseph Aoun.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi has reiterated his call for parliament to “hold successive sessions, according to the constitution and without blocking quorum, in order to elect a president.”

Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab has advised “those promoting presidential candidates abroad” not to support “a candidate whose election would violate the constitution, such as Army chief Joseph Aoun.”