United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973#Key points

The resolution, adopted under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter:

• demands the immediate establishment of a ceasefire and a complete end to violence and all attacks against, and abuses of, civilians;
• imposes a no-fly zone over Libya;
• authorizes "all necessary measures [...] to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, including Benghazi, while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory";
• strengthens the arms embargo and particularly action against mercenaries, by allowing for forcible inspections of ships and planes;
• imposes a ban on all Libyan-designated flights;
• imposes an asset freeze on assets owned by the Libyan authorities, and reaffirms that such assets should be used for the benefit of the Libyan people;
• extends the travel ban and assets freeze of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970 to a number of additional individuals and Libyan entities;
• establishes a panel of experts to monitor and promote sanctions implementation.

Permanent members China and Russia had reservations about the no-fly zone, including the practicalities of enforcing such a zone and concerns about the use of force when other means had not been exhausted, but had noted requests by the Arab League and the "special situation" in Libya and therefore abstained.{{cite news|title=China opposed UN resolution on Libya|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/china/China-opposed-UN-resolution-on-Libya/articleshow/7736989.cms|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105020432/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-03-18/china/29144182_1_libya-resolution-countries|url-status=live|archive-date=5 November 2012|newspaper=The Times of India|date=18 March 2011}} African members of the Security Council condemned the actions of the Libyan regime and supported the text.{{cite news|title=Africa defies AU chief's support for Ghaddafi|url=http://www.afrol.com/articles/37599|date=18 March 2011|work=Afrol News}}

The following day, Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Germany would not take part in the military operation, but added: "We unreservedly share the aims of this resolution. Our abstention should not be confused with neutrality."[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12776418 BBC (retrieved 18 March 2011)] However, her foreign minister Guido Westerwelle had publicly stated his opposition to the resolution.{{cite news| title= Germany won't send forces to Libya, foreign minister declares |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/mar/17/germany-rules-out-libya-military | work=The Guardian | date=17 March 2011}}

India abstained because it perceived the resolution as being based on uncertain information (lack of "credible information on the situation on the ground in Libya") and as being too open-ended (lacking "clarity about details of enforcement measures, including who and with what assets will participate and how these measures will be exactly carried out").{{cite conference|title=UNSC 6498th Meeting|url=https://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=S/PV.6498|date=17 March 2011|publisher=UNSC|pages=5–6}}

Brazil too abstained noting the fundamental contradiction in using force to achieve an "immediate end to violence and the protection of civilians". They believed that the use of force {{blockquote|may have the unintended effect of exacerbating tensions on the ground and causing more harm than good to the very same civilians we are committed to protecting.}} The Brazilian Ambassador Mrs. Viotti further observed that {{blockquote|...an important aspect of the popular movement in North Africa and the Middle East is their spontaneous, homegrown nature. We are also concerned about the possibility that the use of military force, as called for in paragraph 4 of today's resolution, could change that narrative in ways that may have serious repercussions for the situation in Libya and beyond.}}

Libyan opposition forces in Benghazi cheered and fired guns and fireworks into the air as the resolution was adopted.{{cite news|title=UN backs action against Colonel Gaddafi|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12781009|work=BBC News|access-date=22 October 2011|date=18 March 2011}} A few hours before issuing the resolution, Gaddafi warned the opposition with a speech saying, "We are coming tonight, and there will be no mercy".{{cite magazine|url=https://world.time.com/2011/03/17/gaddafi-warns-benghazi-rebel-city-we-are-coming-and-therell-be-no-mercy/|title=Gaddafi Warns Benghazi Rebels: We Are Coming, And There'll Be No Mercy|last=Tharoor|first=Ishaan|date=17 March 2011|magazine=Time|access-date=16 September 2016}}

On 18 March, Muammar Gaddafi's government announced that they would comply with the resolution and implement a ceasefire.{{cite web|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2011/03/fly-zone-ceasefire-libya|title=Libya declares ceasefire|work=New Statesman}} However, it quickly became clear that no ceasefire had in fact been implemented.{{cite news|title=Gadhafi blasts 'crusader' aggression after strikes|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna42164455|work=NBC News|access-date=22 October 2011}}

{{See also|2011 military intervention in Libya}}

File:Usaf-ec-130j-transmitting-on-6877-0-khz-libya-20-march-2011.ogg Lockheed EC-130J aircraft broadcasts a naval blockade warning message to Libyan ports during Operation Odyssey Dawn on 20 March 2011.]]

Military intervention in Libya began on 19 March, as fighter jets of the French Air Force destroyed several pro-Gaddafi vehicles advancing on rebel stronghold Benghazi. U.S. and British submarines then fired over 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles at targets throughout Libya, severely disabling the regime's air defense capability and allowing a wider enforcement of the no-fly zone to begin. A coalition of 10 states from Europe and the Middle East initially participated in the intervention, later expanding to 17. On 31 March, NATO assumed command of the operation. The intervention succeeded in preventing pro-Gaddafi forces from capturing Benghazi.[http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-march-19 ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110323145516/http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-march-19 |date=23 March 2011 }}

On 24 August, it was acknowledged for the first time that special forces troops from Britain,Thomas Harding, Gordon Rayner and Damien McElroy [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8721291/Libya-SAS-leads-hunt-for-Gaddafi.html Libya: SAS leads hunt for Gaddafi], 24 August 2011 Italy, France, Jordan, Qatar,[http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23980885-hunt-is-on-for-safe-houses-where-dictator-can-lie-low.do Hunt is on for safe houses where dictator can lie low | News]—Evening Standard and the UAE had intervened on the ground in Libyan territory, stepping up operations in Tripoli and other cities.Barbara Starr [https://web.archive.org/web/20110923184926/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/08/24/libya.foreign.forces/ Foreign forces in Libya helping rebel forces advance], 24 August 2011 This has been questioned as a possible violation of Resolution 1973George Grant [http://www.thecommentator.com/article/391/special_forces_in_libya_a_breach_of_unscr_1973 Special Forces in Libya: A Breach of UNSCR 1973?], 25 August 2011 although the use of special forces is not prohibited by the resolution.

• Foreign relations of Libya
• List of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1901 to 2000 (2009–2011)
• Responsibility to protect
• United Nations Security Council Resolution 678
• United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970
• United Nations Security Council Resolution 2016

{{reflist|2}}

{{wikinews|UN Security Council approves Libya no-fly zone}}

• {{wikisource-inline}}
• [https://undocs.org/S/RES/1973(2011) Text of the Resolution at undocs.org]
• [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/mar/17/un-security-council-resolution UN Security Council Resolution 1973 (2011) on Libya – full text] – The Guardian
• [https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2011/sc10200.doc.htm UN Security Council's Press Release on Resolution 1973 (2011)] (accessed 2011-03-19).
• [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12782972 Analysis of resolution] – BBC News

{{UNSCR 2011}}

{{Arab Spring}}

{{2011 Libyan civil war}}

1973

Category:Libyan civil war (2011)

Category:2011 in Libya

1973

Category:International reactions to the Arab Spring

Category:March 2011