The Security Council throws a wet noodle
Lifting from CNN, here is what the UN Security Council said today about Libya:
…condemned the violence and use of force against civilians, deplored the repression against peaceful demonstrators and expressed deep regret at the deaths of hundreds of civilians…[and urged the authorities]…to act with restraint, to respect human rights and international humanitarian law and to allow immediate access to international human rights monitors and humanitarian agencies….[also] underscored the need to hold to account those responsible for attacks, including by forces under their control, on civilians.
This is about as weak as it gets, except for the part about human rights monitors and accountability. The question is whether there is a real plan behind these words, or just hot air.
The UN should be asking the Libyan government urgently to allow unarmed human rights monitors into Libya. This was what was done when the Serbs were misbehaving in Kosovo. Though it was too little too late, it focused attention on the problem and gave the international community some leverage over the Milosevic regime.
Accountability is also something that requires action, not just words. Where is the commitment to gathering evidence and bringing an indictment?
No travel bans or asset freezes? No arms embargo? I understand not going right away for the no-fly zone, but what’s the justification for not acting on these issues? Is this really all we can get out of the Security Council, even when the Libyan delegation to the UN has defected and what we need is swift action?
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3 thoughts on “The Security Council throws a wet noodle”
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What did you expect from Russia and China? They could afford to sign on to that “responsibility to protect” report since their vetoes meant it would never be used against their interests. The dictators of the world can rest easy as long as they retain their seats on the SC. And the US still has embassy staff in Tripoli that it has not been able to get out for some unexplained reason. (Another Iranian hostage situation in the making?) In any case, it wasn’t the lack of some formal agreement that kept the Russians and Chinese from authorizing NATO’s action against Serbia, and the existence of one isn’t likely to prompt them to authorize action against a fellow “authoritarian leader” now. The Libyans had better realize that they are on their own. Except for the good wishes of a large part of the world, of course, for all the good that may do them.
Leave the UNSC to what it does best, nagging the Kosovo government condescendingly over any lapses from perfection in its treatment of their truculent Serb population. Halting large-scale bloodshed seems to be a problem for this body.