Tripoli, March 29: The Libya Sanctions Committee of the United Nations Security Council will monitor a resolution that implements heavy economic sanctions on the crisis-hit African nation.
Portuguese Ambassador José Filipe Moraes Cabral, who is in charge of the UNSC Resolution 1970 Sanctions Committee, said the sanctions are as strong as the member states enforcing them, a Media correspondent in New York reported Monday.
“The success of sanctions lies in the active contribution of states in their implementation; their commitment and understanding of the regimes, which is only strengthened by transparency,” said Cabral.
Resolution 1970, proposed by France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, was adopted on February 26, and called for the freezing of the Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi’s money overseas, as wells as travel bans for him and his family. It also called for a full-scale arms and trade embargo.
Cabral further pointed out that the committee would discuss whether the Libyan revolutionary forces can sell national oil to help overthrow the regime “if that situation arises.”
“My job now is to apply the sanctions as they are, and as far as oil is concerned it is very clear: The national oil company is sanctioned under this [Gaddafi’s] regime,” he added.
However, there is technically nothing in the resolution that would prevent the revolutionaries from selling Libyan oil under the sanctions.
On March 19, Operation Odyssey Dawn began by Western-led coalition forces to enforce the UNSC Resolution 1973, which authorized the international community to establish a no-fly zone over Libya.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says that airstrikes over the oil-rich country are for the sole purpose of protecting civilian lives.
The Libyan revolution against the longtime ruler Gaddafi has reportedly left more than 6,000 casualties since it was triggered on February 15.
——–Agencies