The UN Security Council voted on Monday to renew sanctions on Libya and add gender-based violence as a reason for more punitive measures, with Russia and China abstaining.
UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th November, 2018) The UN Security Council voted on Monday to renew sanctions on Libya and add gender-based violence as a reason for more punitive measures, with Russia and China abstaining."The UK welcomes the Security Council's agreement to renew the Libya sanctions regime. In particular, we welcome the fact that the Council has taken an important step by expanding the designation criteria to include gender-based violence," UK Deputy Ambassador Jonathan Allen said.
The UK-drafted resolution was tabled in mid-October. The Netherlands and Sweden then proposed adding the act of planning, directing or committing sexual and gender-based violence as a separate and distinct criterion for listing under the sanctions.
Swedish Ambassador Carl Skau cited a recent UN report which found conflict-related sexual violence to be an acute problem in the war-torn Libya. He thanked the Council for recognizing the need for this particular expertise among the panel assisting the Libya Sanctions Committee.
Russia backed the initial draft resolution but rejected the changes put forth last month by the Netherlands and Sweden. Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said on Monday his objections had not been taken into account.
"The gender component is unjustifiably emerging in the work of the 1970 Committee Panel of Experts. This will distract those experts from their direct obligations," the Russian envoy said.
Nebenzia argued that the issue of sexual violence is considered by specialized platforms, such as the UN Human Rights Council and the Commission on the Status of Women, and underscored the need to adhere to the "relevant division of labor."
