25 February - UNA-UK: time has come for decisive international action on Libya
Heartened by the resignation of the Libyan delegation to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) and the strong resolution adopted by the Council earlier today, UNA-UK urges the international community to take decisive action on Libya now.
In an emergency session today, the HRC strongly condemned the ‘incitement to hostility and violence against the civilian population’ and the ‘recent gross and systematic human rights violations’ committed in the country, noting that some of these actions may amount to crimes against humanity. The Council decided to urgently dispatch a commission of inquiry to investigate alleged violations and make recommendations on accountability measures.
This is the first time the Council has taken strident action against one of its members. During the session, Mohammed Adil, the number three official in the Libyan mission to Geneva, announced that his delegation would serve the will of the Libyan people, not the government, and called for a minute of silence “in honour of the revolution of 17 February”. The entire delegation later resigned in protest at the Qadhafi regime crackdown. Proposals for the UN General Assembly to suspend Libya’s membership of the HRC are said to be circulating.
Reports of civilians coming under heavy fire continue to emerge from the country. Thousands of people are thought to have been killed or injured, with Qadhafi employing aircraft and helicopters to attack protestors. Medical equipment is in short supply and the World Food Programme has said that food shortages are growing in the country. The UN Refugee Agency is preparing tents and relief items for the 10,000 people expected to arrive in Tunisia this weekend.
UNA-UK welcomes the statements made by UN officials, the EU and Russia, the Arab League (which took the decision to suspend Libya’s membership earlier in the week) and various world leaders.
UNA-UK urges these international actors to follow up these statements with decisive action, including:
- a comprehensive arms embargo, travel ban and asset freeze against Qadhafi and his supporters by both the UN Security Council and EU
- initiation of international investigations into allegations of crimes against humanity and gross, systematic violations of rights, specifically, the UN Security Council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court
- suspension of Libya from the Human Rights Council by the UN General Assembly
- provision of humanitarian assistance, including medical and food supplies and keeping the borders open for those fleeing the regime
- heightened engagement by all parties participating in the Arms Trade Treaty negotiations due to begin at the UN next week, to prevent future shipments of arms and equipment to regimes likely to use them to suppress peaceful protests and attack civilians
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