Some observations on the UN-backed intervention in Libya from Bloomberg’s report (see it here):
“This is 21st century intervention, an extraordinary step that pushes the envelope for the UN.” Intervening in an internal conflict such as Libya “goes beyond previous non-aggression measures such the steps taken against Iraq after the invasion of Kuwait in 1990.”
- Jeff Laurenti, UN analyst at the New York-based Century Foundation research group.
“The Security Council has defied expectations and risen to the occasion by making clear that all options are on the table to prevent mass atrocities.” It now needs to deal as decisively with other crises, such as halting mass atrocities in Ivory Coast, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
- Kenneth Roth, executive director of the Human Rights Watch.
“Since that controversial principle [of R2P] was introduced, it has been endorsed in general and hesitant terms … Libya was the first time it’s been forcefully invoked in respect of a specific crisis.”
- Bruce Jones, senior fellow at the Washington-based Brookings Institution.
