The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and approving any changes to the UN Charter. Its powers as outlined in the United Nations Charter include establishing peacekeeping operations, enacting international sanctions, and authorizing military action. These power are exercised through the United Nations Security Council Resolutions. The United Nations Security Council Resolutions UNSC is the only UN body with the authority to issue binding resolutions on member states.
The member states of the United Nations comprise 193 sovereign states. The United Nations (UN) is the world's largest intergovernmental organization. All members have equal representation in the UN General Assembly.
A no-fly zone, also known as a no-flight zone (NFZ), or air exclusion zone (AEZ), is a territory or area established by a military power over which certain aircraft are not permitted to fly. Such zones are usually set up in an enemy power's territory during a conflict, similar in concept to an aerial demilitarized zone, and usually intend to prohibit the enemy's military aircraft from operating in the region. Military action is employed by the enforcing state and, depending on the terms of the NFZ, may include preemptive attacks to prevent potential violations, reactive force targeted at violating aircraft, or surveillance with no use of force. Air exclusion zones and anti-aircraft defences are sometimes set up in a civilian context, for example to protect sensitive locations, or events such as the 2012 London Olympic Games, against terrorist air attack.
An arms embargo is a restriction or a set of sanctions that applies either solely to weaponry or also to "dual-use technology." An arms embargo may serve one or more purposes:
UN Security Council Resolution 731, adopted unanimously on 21 January 1992, after recalling resolutions 286 (1970) and 635 (1989) which condemned acts of terrorism, the Council expressed its concern over the results of investigations into the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, and UTA Flight 772 over Chad and Niger which implicated officials from the Government of Libya.
UN Security Council Resolution 748, adopted unanimously on 31 March 1992, after reaffirming Resolution 731 (1992), the UN Security Council decided, under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, that the Government of Libya must now comply with requests from investigations relating to the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie and UTA Flight 772 over Chad and Niger, calling on Libya to cease all forms of terrorist action and assistance to terrorist groups. To this end, the council imposed sanctions on Libya until Libya complied.
UN Security Council Resolution 883, adopted on 11 November 1993, after reaffirming resolutions 731 (1992) and 748 (1992), the council noted that, twenty months later, Libya had not complied with previous Security Council resolutions and as a consequence imposed further international sanctions on the country.
United Nations Security Council resolution 910, adopted unanimously on 14 April 1994, after considering a letter by the Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali advising of his intention to send a reconnaissance team to the disputed Aouzou Strip between Chad and Libya, the Council decided to exempt the reconnaissance mission from a provision in Resolution 748 (1992) that imposed international sanctions on Libya.
United Nations Security Council resolution 915, adopted unanimously on 4 May 1994, after reaffirming Resolution 910 (1994), the council, acting on a recommendation by the Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, established the United Nations Aouzou Strip Observer Group (UNASOG) to supervise the withdrawal of Libyan forces from the Aouzou Strip following an International Court of Justice opinion that the strip formed part of the territory of Chad.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1506, adopted on 12 September 2003, after recalling resolutions 731 (1992), 748 (1992), 883 (1993) and 1192 (1998) concerning the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988 and UTA Flight 772 over Niger in 1989, the council lifted sanctions against Libya imposed after the country failed to co-operate with investigations into the destruction of the aircraft.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970 was a measure adopted unanimously by the UN Security Council on 26 February 2011. It condemned the use of lethal force by the government of Muammar Gaddafi against protesters participating in the Libyan Civil War, and imposed a series of international sanctions in response.
Resolution 1973 was adopted by the United Nations Security Council on 17 March 2011 in response to the First Libyan Civil War. The resolution formed the legal basis for military intervention in the Libyan Civil War, demanding "an immediate ceasefire" and authorizing the international community to establish a no-fly zone and to use all means necessary short of foreign occupation to protect civilians.
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) is a United Nations (UN) advanced mission in Libya, created in the aftermath of the Libyan Civil War. UNSMIL is a political mission, not a military mission. The main elements of its mandate defined by the UN include supporting Libyan transitional authorities in "post-conflict efforts", providing mediation in implementing Libyan political agreements, supporting key Libyan institutions and monitoring and reporting on human rights. UNSMIL is led by the UN Department of Political Affairs.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 2016 was unanimously adopted on 27 October 2011 on the situation of Libya during the Libyan Civil War.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 2009 was unanimously adopted on 16 September 2011.
United Nations General Assembly Resolution 65/265 is a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly which suspended the right of Libya to take part in the Human Rights Council. Adopted on March 1, 2011 without vote, the resolution was passed in response to Muammar Gaddafi's treatment of protesters in the 2011 Libyan civil war.
The Libyan National Army or the Libyan National Arab Army is a component of Libya's military forces which were nominally a unified national force under the command of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar when he was nominated to the role on 2 March 2015 by the House of Representatives, consisting at the time of a ground force, an air force and a navy.
The Libyan civil war from 2014 to 2020 was a multilateral civil war in Libya fought between different armed groups, but mainly the House of Representatives (HoR) and the Government of National Accord.
The Presidential Council is a body formed under the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement which was signed on 17 December 2015. The Council carries out the functions of head of state of Libya and is to take command of the Libyan Armed Forces. The agreement has been unanimously endorsed by the United Nations Security Council which welcomed the formation of the Presidency Council and recognized that the Government of National Accord is the sole legitimate executive government of Libya.
The Libyan peace process was a series of meetings, agreements and actions that aimed to resolve the Second Libyan Civil War. Among these were the Skhirat agreement of December 2015 and the plans for the Libyan National Conference in April 2019 that were delayed because of the 2019–20 Western Libya campaign.
