here are two main U.N. resolutions dictating the international stance on Libya right now. Resolution 1973 implements the no-fly zone that opened up the door to air strikes -- and the slightly older Resolution 1970 implements heavy economic sanctions.
Portuguese Ambassador José Filipe Moraes Cabral, who's in charge of the 1970 sanctions committee, said on Monday that the sancitons are as strong as the member states enforcing them.
According to Resolution 1970, member states have 120 days to sign on with the sanctions committee and detail how they are following through. 1970 called for the freezing of Libyan money overseas and a travel ban for Gadhafi, his friends and family. It also called for a full scale arms and trade embargoes, and that's where the details become important. For instance, can Revolutionary Forces sell Libyan oil to help overthrow the Khaddafi regime? Cabral wouldn't say exactly.
There is technically nothing in 1970 that would prevent rebels from selling Libyan oil under the sanctions, but Cabral does add that the arms embargo is clear in that no arms are to cross over into Libya.
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon continues to insist that air strikes are for the sole purpose of protecting civilian lives -- and that UN and NATO coalition forces are not helping revolutionaries fight for regime change.
Representatives of the Arab League, the African Union, and Security Council nations, among others, will talk about the future of Libya on Tuesday in London, if and when that regime change happens.
China, Russia, and Turkey have expressed anger at the air strikes, with Turkey going so far as to suggest a solution to the Libyan problem that would leave Gadhafi in power, a solution not popular with coalition nations.
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Tuesday, March 29th 2011 at 8:18AM
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