Libya

Libya

Anthony Infantino, Nancy Yoko Hardie, Sae-hoon Park

Background

•No political parties

Economy relies on oil production (80% of GDP)

•Jamahiriya; General peoples congress (representative legislature) Prime minister and President

•Revolutionary Command Council; 12 persons, non elected, cannot be removed from office

- Headed by Muammar Gaddafi

Timeline•Begins with minor protests over housing developments mid January 2011

•Influenced by the Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. Calls for greater freedoms in Libya

•Gaddafi regime traditionally quick to stamp down dissent.

Timeline (cont.)

Continuously escalating cycle of suppression and reaction

February 15: Riots break out in Benghazi, protesters clash with police. Increasing use of lethal force.

Timeline (cont.)

•Defections from government and military facilitate a strong oppositional armed response force - Transnational Interim National Council

Timeline (cont.)•Protest breaks out into civil war, rebel forces make rapid gains, beginning with Benghazi, Tobruk, and soon half the country’s major cities.

Gaddafi’s Response

•Success of rebel forces prompts extremely harsh military response, Gaddafi’s forces retake most of the country by mid March

•Fall of rebel-held Benghazi imminent

•Clear threat to commit atrocities:“Officers have been deployed in all tribes and regions so they can purify the decisions of these cockroaches…any Libyan who takes up arms against Libya will be executed”

International Response

22nd February: League of Arab States (LAS) suspended Libya’s membership

23rd February: African Union’s Peace and Security Council condemns the excessive use of force against protesters. Recognises these protests as “legitimate”.

23 February 2011: President Sarkozy pushes for the European Union (EU) to pass sanctions against Gaddafi and demand that he stops attacks against civilians.

25th February: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay reminds Libya of its “Responsibility to Protect” its own citizens, demands cessation of violence against protesters

1st March 2011: Libya suspended from UNHR council

9th March 2011: Mustafa Abdul Jalil, head of the Libyan National Transitional Council, implored the international community to quickly enforce a no-fly zone.

He stated, "If there is no no-fly zone imposed on Gaddafi's regime, and his ships are not checked, we will have a catastrophe in Libya."

10th March 2011: Libyan NTC gains recognition by France as the legitimate government.

11th March 2011: France and Britain join forces

12th March 2011: 9 out of 22 Arab League members advocate a no-fly zone

14th March 2011: France pushes the US for intervention in Libya

15 March 2011: A resolution for a no-fly zone was proposed by Lebanon's Ambassador to the UN. This was immediately supported by France and Britain.

17th March 2011: No-fly zone approved by UN Security Council acting under Chapter VII (ACTION WITH RESPECT TO THREATS TO THE PEACE, BREACHES OF THE PEACE, AND ACTS OF AGGRESSION) of the UN Charter.

10 in favour, 0 against, 5 abstentions (China, Russia, India, Brazil, Germany)

18th March 2011: President Obama held a meeting with 18 senior lawmakers at the White House concerning the failed ceasefire declared by Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa.

19th March: Military intervention by France begins using “all necessary means” to protect civilians under Resolution 1973.

24th March: French Foreign Minister, Alain Juppé, agrees to let NATO take over all military operations on 29th March at the latest.

25th March 2011: NATO Allied Joint Force Command in Naples takes command of the no-fly zone in Libya combined with the ongoing arms embargo “ Operation Unified Protector”.

20th October 2011: Death of Gaddafi 31st October 2011: NATO mission officially ends

Resolution 1970•Passed on Feb 26th.

•Condemned the violence against civilians,stating that it could amount to crimes against humanity.

Resolution 1970• Endorsed the Regional authorities various actions and demands against Libya, and reasserted the Libyan government’s r2p.

-Proposed by France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.

-Enacted under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter and Article 41

Resolution 1970(cont)

-Arm embargo-Travel Van-Asset Freeze-called upon member states to begin sending aid to Libya

-Rejected “No-fly zone”

Resolution 1970(cont)•Urged Gaddafi’s government to allow for the safe passage of humanitarian and medical supplies into Libya

• Refers case to International Criminal Court

Resolution 1973- Formed the legal basis for military intervention

- Enacted under Chapter VII of the UN chartera. Demands “immediate ceasefire” and violence against civilians.

b. Decide to impose “no-fly zone” in order to halt the aerial bombing of Gaddafi forces.

Resolution 1973(cont)

c. Authorized all “necessary means” to protect civilians and civilian-populated area.d. Reinforced the travel ban, asset freeze and arm

embargo.e. Approved by all members, except for Brazil, Russia, China, Germany and India who abstained.

Operation Odyssey Dawn-Military intervention without any ground troops

-in order to enforce the resolution 1973 -to impose no-fly zone

Operation Unified Protector-The operational command handed to UN-to enforce resolution 1970 and 1973-mistaken bombing

Responsibility to Protect

•situation framed as humanitarian crisis from the start

•International response came very quickly compared to past

Responsibility to Protect

•Prevention not a viable course of action (Libya wasn’t on watch list)

•First time in history council voted to use force to protect human life against the wishes of the host state.

•Regional organizations as gatekeepers

•LAS was given priority over the African Union

•regional authorities should be given more consideration in the event of regional disagreement

•Criticism of air intervention, citing Kosovo, only provides indirect protection, can result in unintended collateral damage and civilian casualties. Need a more precise way of using force.

•human protection must not be synonymous with regime change.

• Should not be used as a façade to forward other agendas

Distinctive points of the case1. International community responded relatively faster comparing to other cases.

2. Most of the UN member states authorized NTC as a national government of Libya.

3. UNSCR 1997 includes “all necessary means”4. Libya is the first case that international community decides to intervene militarily without the consensus of the country that they are targeting.

Failures of the International Community

What could have done better?

•Too quick withdrawal from Libya after Gaddafi is killed. Country left to reconstruct itself.

•Gaddafi’s death•Mistaken bombing by NATO killed civilians and rebel forces.

•Rejection of provision over “no-fly zone” in resolution 1970

R2P CriteriaJust Cause; 5/5

“there must be serious and irreparable harm occurring to human beings, or imminently likely to occur”

Clear threat to eradicate resistance forces

Right Intention 4/5“The primary purpose of the intervention, whatever other motivesintervening states may have, must be to halt or avert human suffering. Right intention

is better assured with multilateral operations, clearly supported by regional opinion and the victims concerned.”

Regime change prompts questions of intent

Oil

Last Resort4/5

Libya failed to up hold resolution 1970

All diplomatic efforts had failed

Dissenting states believed military intervention would not yield an optimal outcome

Ultimately abstained from vote

Proportional Means3/5“The scale, duration and intensity of the planned militaryintervention should be the minimum necessary to secure the defined human

protection objective”

Resolution 1973 authorized all means necessary

NATO criticized for its broad interpretation

civilian casualties

Right Authority4/5Depends on the perspective

Security council authorized use of force with resolution 1973

However, france had begun arming the rebels and NATO began independently mobilizing in the region and discussing strategies for intervention before the resolution was passed.

Regional authorities had supported UN action and requested a no fly zone.

Did not have consent of the the host state

Questions of how to define legitimate political authority

Reasonable Prospects3/5“There must be a reasonable chance of success in halting or averting the suffering

which has justified the intervention, with the consequences of action not likely to be worse than the consequences of inaction”

Military intervention was supported by regional authorities and was successful in preventing humanitarian atrocities

Responsibility to rebuild?

Current SituationGovernment has lost control to militia fighters

Stopped producing oil

Economy is in ruin

War between the Zawiya and the Wershfana

Escalating violence

Ignored by international community

Interior Minister Mohammed al-Sheikh resigns in August 2013

Kidnapping of Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan October10th 2013

Thank you for your kind attention!