Libya
Historical Chronology

The Council adopted resolution resolution 2016  terminating the provisions of resolution 1973 allowing the use of force to protect civilians and ensuring the no-fly zone, effectively ending the authorisation for the NATO military operation in Libya on 31 October 2011.

The Council adopted resolution 2009 which established the UNSMIL mandate for a three-month period and modified the regime of sanctions.

The UN General Assembly approved the credentials of the delegations representing the NTC.

The Secretary-General briefed the Council on the situation in Libya. The Council then met in consultations with Ian Martin, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser for Post-Conflict Planning.

The Malabo Summit called AU member states to not cooperate with the execution of the arrest warrants issued by the ICC on 27 June, and requested the Security Council to defer the ICC process under article 16 of the Rome Statute.

France informed the Secretary-General of its additional measure taken in accordance with paragraph 4 of resolution 1973, airdrops of self-defence weapons.

Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Mr. Lynn Pascoe briefed the Security Council (S/PV.6566).      

The ICC issued arrest warrants for Muammar Qaddafi, his son and his intelligence chief for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The Libya Contact Group met in Abu Dhabi.

The Commission of Inquiry presented its first report in which it concluded that crimes against humanity and war crimes had been committed by Tripoli.

South African President Jacob Zuma announced a bilateral visit to Tripoli on 30 May to discuss an exit strategy with Muammar Qaddafi. 

The AU held an extraordinary summit on Libya attended by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and reemphasised the importance of the AU’s High Level Committee and the AU Roadmap.

Media reports indicated there may have been systematic use of rape by Qaddafi forces during the siege of Misrata

A high-level delegation visited Benghazi and invited the Transitional National Council (TNC) to open an office in Washington DC.

The AU Peace and Security Council met in Addis Ababa with UN Security Council members. A subsequent communiqué expressed concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation, stressed the need for an immediate and verifiable ceasefire and the need for a political solution to the conflict.

US President Barack Obama in his Middle East speech characterised the TNC as credible and legitimate.

ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked the Court’s pre-trial chamber to issue arrest warrants for Qaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam Qaddafi and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanousi.

Special Envoy for Libya, Abdel-Elah Al-Khatib visited Tripoli where he met with several high-level officials, but not with Qaddafi as had been previously expected. 

The Libyan situation was brought up during the open debate on protection of civilians. (S/PV.6531 and resumption 1)

Khatib briefed the Council and said that both Benghazi and Tripoli wanted a ceasefire but there remained fundamental differences regarding any political process which the TNC has linked to Qaddafi’s departure.

Council members were briefed by Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe on measures taken by member states under resolution 1973 in informal consultations.

The Human Rights Council’s Commission of Inquiry visited Libya. It is expected to report back to the Human Rights Council in June.

NATO announced it was targeting Colonel Muammar Qaddafi’s command and control structures in order to weaken the regime’s ability to attack civilians. 

Qaddafi’s foreign minister criticised the deployment of military advisors to Benghazi and called for a ceasefire followed by elections within six months.

OCHA head Valerie Amos announced the establishment of a UN humanitarian presence in Tripoli following her visit there with a high-level UN delegation that included the Special Envoy for Libya, Abdel-Elah Al-Khatib.

The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, condemned the reported use of cluster bombs and heavy weaponry and the targeting of medical facilities by the Tripoli regime in Misrata.

The UN Secretary-General convened a meeting in Cairo of the UN, the Arab League, the AU, the EU and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference to coordinate the international response to the crisis in Libya. 

At a summit in Beijing, BRICS leaders said that resolution 1973 was being interpreted arbitrarily. (BRICS nations are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa—all Security Council members as well.)

The Libya Contact Group met in Doha concluding, inter alia, that as long as the Tripoli regime continued to attack civilians the robust implementation of resolution 1973 would continue.

ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said he would like to interview Moussa Koussa, the former Libyan foreign minister who defected to the UK on 30 March. 

The EU authorised “EUFOR-Libya”—a military operation to support delivery of humanitarian assistance if requested by the UN. 

 A conference in London agreed to form a contact group to support a Libyan transition to democracy and increase international pressure on Qaddafi to step down

Ambassador José Cabral of Portugal, the chair of the 1970 Sanctions Committee on Libya, briefed Council members

NATO agreed to take over from the US the command and control of all military operations over Libya to enforce resolution 1973

Consultations of the AU Ad-Hoc High Level Committee on Libya at AU headquarters in Addis Ababa.

The Secretary-General briefed Council members on measures taken by member states under resolution 1973 on Libya

The Libyan regime in Tripoli said it would comply with the ceasefire called for in resolution 1973. The next day the Secretary-General said a Libyan ceasefire could not be verified

The Council adopted resolution 1973, which authorised all necessary measures—excluding an occupation force—to protect civilians in Libya and enforce the arms embargo. It also imposed a no-fly zone, strengthened the sanctions regime and established a panel of experts to support the 1970 Sanctions Committee on Libya

In a statement the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights noted receipt of numerous reports of summary executions, rape, torture and disappearance.

The Arab League issued a statement noting the Libyan authorities’ use of military aircraft, mortars and heavy weaponry against civilians and calling on the Security Council to impose a no-fly zone

The EU issued a declaration calling the use of force against civilians unacceptable and asserting that member states would explore all necessary options to protect civilians

Cherif Bassiouni (Egypt), Asma Khader (Jordanian/Palestinian), and Philippe Kirsch (Canada) were appointed to the commission of inquiry established on 25 February by the Human Rights Council

The AU Peace and Security Council met at the heads of state level and condemned the indiscriminate use of force by Libya but rejected foreign military intervention

Council members discussed possible further measures against Libya, including the option of a no-fly zone, in informal consultations following a briefing by B. Lynn Pascoe. No action was taken

The Organisation of the Islamic Conference released a statement supporting a no-fly zone over Libya but excluded foreign military operations on the ground

The Interim Transitional National Council issued a statement declaring itself Libya’s sole representative. The letter called for the international community to fulfil its obligation to protect the Libyan people “without any direct military intervention on Libyan soil.”

ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said that he was investigating alleged crimes against humanity committed by Libya, including by Colonel Muammar Qaddafi and his inner circle.

The UN General Assembly suspended Libya from the Human Rights Council with a unanimous vote.

The political leadership of the anti-Qaddafi movement organized itself as the Interim Transitional National Council in Benghazi

The Council unanimously adopted resolution 1970 demanding an immediate end to the violence in Libya and referring the situation in Libya to the ICC. The resolution also implemented an arms embargo, a travel ban, and an asset freeze. A sanctions committee was also established

The Human Rights Council passed a resolution on Libya which condemned the recent systematic human rights violations. The resolution called for a commission of inquiry to investigate

During informal consultations, Council members discussed taking action under Chapter VII of the UN Charter to impose deterrent measures against the Libyan regime

The AU issued a statement condemning the use of force against civilians and decided to send a mission to Libya to assess the situation

Under-Secretary-General B. Lynn Pascoe briefed the Council in closed consultations on the situation in Libya. A subsequent press release condemned the use of force against civilians

The Arab League condemned the use of force against civilians and suspended Libya’s participation in the League until Libya meets its demands to immediately stop all violence

Ibrahim Dabbashi, the deputy permanent representative at the Libyan mission to the UN, publically broke from Qaddafi’s regime, reporting the regime’s use of mercenaries to quell demonstrations

Protests continued throughout the country. Estimates put the number of demonstrators in the tens of thousands

The United States restored diplomatic ties with Libya and removed Libya from its list of state-sponsors of terrorism