After a long and difficult debate that reflects the importance and drama of the situation in Libya, the Security Council of the United Nations this morning unanimously adopted a resolution that Muammar Gaddafi makes a pariah of the international community, condemned by cruelty, punishable by sanctions that isolate the world and persecuted as a criminal who has committed crimes against humanity.
It is a step of great moral significance, but probably not enough to immediately stop the brutal repression unleashed against the Libyan population. The resolution took almost 10 hours of discussion because some countries, including two members of the Council with veto powers, Russia and China, offered resistance to support a text that so clearly is involved in the internal affairs of another nation.
The degree of violence used against unarmed civilians by Gaddafi offered no alternative. A rejection of this resolution or its conversion into a pointless text would have meant a blow to international awareness and for the thousands of people who are risking their lives in Libya. With this resolution, those people are not safe, but at least they know they have unequivocally supported the world.
"It's a very strong resolution that is a great encouragement to the people of Libya," he said after the vote, U.S. Ambassador, Susan Rice. United States, along with France, Britain and Germany were the countries that contributed to drafting the resolution, a first gesture of anger after more than 10 days to monitor developments in bewilderment and resignation.
The resolution also has the virtue to raise the bar for other leaders who seek to stifle the protests in blood. The agreed text includes economic sanctions against the Libyan regime, foreign travel bans Gadhafi, his family and the clique that protects, freezing their accounts, seizes arms sales to that country and, especially, denounced the atrocities as "crimes against humanity" who "deserve to be judged by the International Criminal Court in The Hague." Only once before, the Security Council had sent a human rights violation of international justice: Darfur.
With all the complaints that, precisely, are frequently made to this institution for its bureaucracy and slowness, we must recognize that this time he has acted with unprecedented speed and forcefulness. Although it may seem far from the eyes of citizens alarmed by the events in Libya, the five days that the Council used to approve this resolution constitute an authentic record speed.
Much credit must go to the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, who conducted the Friday night members of the Council to describe in the crudest terms the tragedy that exists in Libya and ask them accelerate their efforts. Mention should also be most strongly demonstrated in the last hours by the leaders of major powers on Libya.
Yesterday, the U.S. president, Barack Obama, who has only spoken once publicly about the Libyan crisis, issued a statement informing them of his telephone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in which he claimed that Gaddafi had lost legitimacy and "had to go now." Do not rely on these statements and rulings made Qaddafi abandon his efforts to stay in power by force.
Libya has been several times subject to economic sanctions of the United States and other Western countries not to weaken the regime the least. With all its limitations, however, this resolution is all that the international community can do today. The following steps require military action, something they seem unwilling members of NATO or the insurgents are demanding Libyans. 
It is a step of great moral significance, but probably not enough to immediately stop the brutal repression unleashed against the Libyan population. The resolution took almost 10 hours of discussion because some countries, including two members of the Council with veto powers, Russia and China, offered resistance to support a text that so clearly is involved in the internal affairs of another nation.
The degree of violence used against unarmed civilians by Gaddafi offered no alternative. A rejection of this resolution or its conversion into a pointless text would have meant a blow to international awareness and for the thousands of people who are risking their lives in Libya. With this resolution, those people are not safe, but at least they know they have unequivocally supported the world.
"It's a very strong resolution that is a great encouragement to the people of Libya," he said after the vote, U.S. Ambassador, Susan Rice. United States, along with France, Britain and Germany were the countries that contributed to drafting the resolution, a first gesture of anger after more than 10 days to monitor developments in bewilderment and resignation.
The resolution also has the virtue to raise the bar for other leaders who seek to stifle the protests in blood. The agreed text includes economic sanctions against the Libyan regime, foreign travel bans Gadhafi, his family and the clique that protects, freezing their accounts, seizes arms sales to that country and, especially, denounced the atrocities as "crimes against humanity" who "deserve to be judged by the International Criminal Court in The Hague." Only once before, the Security Council had sent a human rights violation of international justice: Darfur.
With all the complaints that, precisely, are frequently made to this institution for its bureaucracy and slowness, we must recognize that this time he has acted with unprecedented speed and forcefulness. Although it may seem far from the eyes of citizens alarmed by the events in Libya, the five days that the Council used to approve this resolution constitute an authentic record speed.
Much credit must go to the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, who conducted the Friday night members of the Council to describe in the crudest terms the tragedy that exists in Libya and ask them accelerate their efforts. Mention should also be most strongly demonstrated in the last hours by the leaders of major powers on Libya.
Yesterday, the U.S. president, Barack Obama, who has only spoken once publicly about the Libyan crisis, issued a statement informing them of his telephone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in which he claimed that Gaddafi had lost legitimacy and "had to go now." Do not rely on these statements and rulings made Qaddafi abandon his efforts to stay in power by force.
Libya has been several times subject to economic sanctions of the United States and other Western countries not to weaken the regime the least. With all its limitations, however, this resolution is all that the international community can do today. The following steps require military action, something they seem unwilling members of NATO or the insurgents are demanding Libyans.
No comments:
Post a Comment