Johannesburg 23 February 2011. Although, the 15 members of the UN Security Council have issued a unanimous statement condemning the violence in Libya, they have failed to take any concrete actions to restore peace and security to the people of Libya.
CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation calls upon members of the UN Security Council to discharge their responsibility to guarantee international peace and security and prevent crimes against humanity by issuing a binding resolution calling upon the Libyan Government to immediately halt the attacks on protestors.
As news reports indicate, the violent and brutal crackdown against protestors is continuing in the country. Libya's 'supreme leader' Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has urged his supporters to come out on the streets to attack the "rats" and "cockroaches" opposing his 40 plus years iron grip on power.
Indications from Colonel's Gadaffi's public address of 22 February show that he has no intention of relenting to the legitimate demands of the pro-democracy protestors. Instead he has threatened to purge opponents "house by house" and "inch by inch".
"The situation in Libya is fast spiralling into an international crisis with the Security Council watching on the sidelines. We are deeply disappointed that the Council simply issued a statement rather than a binding resolution to protect the people of Libya from crimes against humanity being committed by Colonel Gaddafi's government", said Ingrid Srinath, Secretary General of CIVICUS.