28 February 2011
International Community Showing Unity, Determination on Libya
Washington — Susan Rice, the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations, says that through U.N. Security Council Resolution 1970, the world has spoken “with one voice” and “with an unusual and important sense of urgency, determination and unity of purpose” to condemn the Libyan government’s violence against its people, sanction its leadership, and hold the regime accountable for human rights violations.
Rice spoke at the White House February 28 following President Obama’s meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. She said a “significant portion” of their discussions focused on the political unrest in Libya.
Rice said the United Nations is playing “a positive and very important role” in efforts to end the bloodshed, hold Libyan leaders accountable for their abuses and show support for the Libyan people.
Resolution 1970, which passed on February 26, marked the first time the Security Council unanimously agreed to refer a case of human rights violations to the International Criminal Court. The resolution also instituted a travel ban and an assets freeze on key Libyan leaders, imposed a complete arms embargo on the country, took steps against the Libyan government’s use of mercenaries against its people, and will help facilitate the delivery of vital humanitarian assistance to Libya, Rice said.
“These sanctions and accountability mechanisms should make all members of the Libyan regime think about the choice they have before them: violate human rights and be held accountable, or stop the violence and respect the Libyan people’s call for change. There’s no escaping that critical choice,” Rice said. She called on Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi to “step aside to prevent further bloodshed, and to allow the Libyan people to have a government that is responsive to their aspirations.”
The ambassador said recent statements by Qadhafi to international journalists have sounded “delusional” and underscore the importance of the steps the United States and the international community have taken against his regime.
“When he can laugh in talking to American and international journalists while he is slaughtering his own people, it only underscores how unfit he is to lead and how disconnected he is from reality,” she said.
Rice also said that since the Obama administration announced February 25 that it was freezing assets and taking other unilateral measures against the Libyan government, the U.S. Treasury Department has seized approximately $30 billion from Libya’s leaders, despite “the fact that Colonel Qadhafi and his son Saif say they have no resources out there to be seized, they led a clean and uncorrupt life.”
U.S. SUPPORTING FOOD SUPPLIES, AID FOR LIBYAN REFUGEES
The State Department announced an initial U.S. humanitarian response to the crisis in Libya. According to a February 28 fact sheet, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has set aside an initial $10 million for international organizations, nongovernmental groups and the Libyan Red Crescent Society to use toward the most urgent needs of the Libyan people.
USAID is also sending two “expert humanitarian teams” to Libya’s borders with Tunisia and Egypt, and is consulting with the governments of both countries on how to assist with the large number of people who have been fleeing Libya, the fact sheet said. The State Department’s Bureau for Population, Migration and Refugees is also working with the International Organization for Migration and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in support of their efforts.
The Obama administration is immediately focused on the need to “keep medical pipelines well stocked and intact,” but the fact sheet said that because of concerns that the crisis could lead to food shortages, USAID has also conducted an inventory of all U.S. food assistance in the region and is “prepared to divert or dispatch other food stocks to Libya” if needed.
“In the midst of ongoing violence, the humanitarian situation in Libya is growing more acute,” the fact sheet said. “Restricted access and limited information pose distinct challenges, but the United States is actively responding and stands prepared to assist Libya’s people through this turbulent period.”
(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)
