[Amnesty International] Unanimous Security Council Vote a Crucial Moment for International Justice

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Press Release

27 February 2011

Unanimous Security Council vote a crucial moment for international justice

Saturday’s Security Council referral of Libya to the International
Criminal Court marks a historic moment in accountability for crimes
under international law, Amnesty International said today.

The Security Council’s vote came after a plea for action from Libya’s
own UN delegation, which had announced that it no longer represented
Col al-Gaddafi.

“This is a welcome and historic precedent,” said Steve Crawshaw,
director of international advocacy at Amnesty International. “Libyan
leaders and all others who may commit crimes under international law
must now take heed that they will be called to account.”

“For the people of Libya, this decision is a signal that the
international community will not avert its eyes from the human rights
abuses that they continue to suffer.”

Amnesty International urged the UN Human Rights Council, the Arab
League and the African Union, all of which have announced
investigative missions to Libya, to urgently proceed with their
missions and to hand over their findings to the ICC prosecutor as soon
as possible.

The organization also called on the Security Council to consider
similar action elsewhere.

“The Security Council must build on the strong action it took
yesterday. It must address situations in other parts of the world that
at the moment have less public profile but are no less serious,” said
Steve Crawshaw.

The vote follows a strong condemnation of human rights abuses in Libya
by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Friday and the
announcement of actions to ensure accountability.

Public Document

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in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566 or email: press@amnesty.org

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WC1X 0DW, UK

www.amnesty.org

Author: Impunity Watch Archive