US Supports Expelling Libya from Human Rights Council
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters Thursday that the United States is backing the effort to remove Libya from the U.N. Human Rights Council because the Libyan government “has violated the rights of its people.”
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is facing international pressure over his government's violent clampdown against protesters. Crowley said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will go to Geneva for international talks next week aimed at stopping the crackdown.
Speaking in Ukraine Thursday, Rasmussen said NATO has received no request for such an intervention, and stressed that any action NATO does take should be based on a United Nations mandate.
Rasmussen said the situation in Libya does not threaten NATO or any NATO allies, but he added it could cause a refugee crisis.
The European Union has already decided to prepare new sanctions against Libya, and the U.S. has said it is also considering sanctions. But neither has officially suggested using force.
U.S. President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he has ordered his national security team to prepare “a full range of options” for dealing with the crisis.
President Obama said the crackdown in Libya violates international norms and called the suffering and bloodshed “outrageous and unacceptable.” Mr. Obama said it is “imperative the nations of the world speak with one voice” about the situation.
Meanwhile, the U.S.-based SITE monitoring group said Thursday that al-Qaida's North African branch has issued a statement expressing solidarity with the anti-Gadhafi protesters. The group quoted al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb as urging the Libyan people to continue their uprising.
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