UN suspends Libya's membership in Human Rights Council
Source: Hueiyen News Service / Agencies
New York, March 02 2011:
The UN General Assembly on Tuesday decided by consensus to suspend Libya's membership in the Human Rights Council over leader Muammar Gaddafi's bloody crackdown on antigovernment protestors, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported.
The resolution also expressed "deep concern about the human rights situation" in the country, where government forces continued to attack demonstrators.
It is the first time that a country's membership of the UN council has been suspended.
The Geneva-based body, comprising 47 states, was created in 2006 to address human rights violations and make appropriate recommendations.
Libya has been a member since May 2010, with its term set to expire in 2013, and was among four members elected from the African region.
"The General Assembly has come together to speak with one voice to Libya's unrepentant rulers," US Ambassador Susan Rice said in the plenary session.
"This unprecedented action sends another clear warning to Mr.Gaddafi and those who still stand by him: they must stop the killing" .
Other countries also spoke out against the current situation in Libya, although no one representing the country made any comments.
"Japan condemns the government violence and use of force against (Libya's) own citizens," Japan's Ambassador Tsuneo Nishida said.
"All perpetrators of these heinous acts must be brought to justice" .
Although Venezuelan Ambassador Jorge Valero backed the move, he was cautious about US motives for positioning itself in the region and wanted member states to "put a stop to the invasion plans against Libya" .
Meanwhile, as discussions get under way among some of the world's top leaders about instituting a possible no-fly zone over Libya, Rice said the UN Security Council has not discussed the issue yet.
British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant, however, told reporters after the plenary session that such a step could not be ruled out.
"On the question of the no-fly zone we are not ruling anything out at this stage," he said.
"The Security Council is keeping the issue under review...If we think that further measures are warranted then the Security Council will look to adopt such measures" .
The UN Human Rights Council on Friday unanimously adopted a resolution making the suspension recommendation and condemned the Gaddafi regime's crackdowns.
To carry out the recommendation, it needed the General Assembly's approval.
The suspension also comes on the heels of the Security Council on Saturday voting unanimously to back a sanctions resolution aimed at putting an end to the Libyan government's attacks on its citizens.
Under the resolution, Gaddafi and his family are subject to travel bans and an assets freeze.
An arms embargo is also being imposed on the country, and Gaddafi and others deemed responsible for the crackdown are to be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for possible charges of crimes against humanity.
The ICC prosecutor's office is now considering opening an investigation into the attacks on civilians since Feb 15 .
The court is in the process of collecting information from Libyan officials as well as looking for footage and images to compile for evidence.
The ICC's chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, said that information so far suggests that forces loyal to Gaddafi are attacking civilians.
"This could constitute crimes against humanity and must stop," Moreno-Ocampo said in a press statement released Monday.
"The office will act swiftly and impartially.
There will be no impunity for leaders involved in the commission of crimes" .
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