European Forum

UN suspends Libya from Human Rights Council while unrest continues

Today (2 March) Libyan leader Muammar Gadaffi tried to reassert his power in a part of the country under the control of the opposition. He did so by launching an attack on the town of al-Brega, home to a refinery and natural gas processing plant. The battle for the oil city is ongoing.

At the same time Gadaffi held another lengthy speech to supporters. In his speech he again claimed that there are no peaceful Libyan protests, only al Qaeda-backed efforts to tear the country apart. In addition he said people were wrong to target him as he's only a symbol of the revolution and does not have any official positions he can resign from. He claims to already have handed over the power “to the people” in 1977.


Exclusion from UN Human Rights Council
The speech came a day after the UN suspended Libya from its Human Rights Council, accusing it of committing gross and systematic violations of human rights. The 192 U.N. member nations voted by consensus on the council's recommendation to suspend Libya’s membership. Libya is the first country to have been suspended from the council since it was formed in 2006.

Gadaffi responded to the resolution by stating that the UN had condemned Libya based on “false reports” and challenged the UN to conduct an investigation into the violence. He also warned that "thousands and thousands of people will be killed" if the United States or NATO "intervene in our country."

Yesterday it was announced that EU leaders will hold a summit in Brussels on 11 March to discuss the situation in North Africa, the Middle East and Libya in particular.

Libya has been in the grip of turmoil since anti-Gaddafi protests began almost three weeks ago. The demonstrations seem to have been ignited by the wave of protests in the Middle East, all fuelled by discontent over unemployment, rising living costs, corruption and autocratic leaderships.

For the latest information visit Libya Live Blog

Sources: BBC, CNN, Volkskrant (Dutch)
Photo: Flickr; Crethi Plethi