UNSMIL

UNSC Watch: US Returns to Pre-Trump Palestine Policy, No Consensus on Libya Sanctions Chair’s Report

A weekly analysis on UN Security Council proceedings as India begins its two-year tenure at the body.

New Delhi: The last week of January saw a change in US policy on major international issues – and this time the platform was the 15-member United Nations Security Council.

A week-old Biden administration presented a return to Washington’s traditional approach on the Israeli-Palestinian dispute at the quarterly open debate on the ‘The Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question’ on January 26.

The virtual meeting was briefed by senior UN officials, the Palestinian foreign minister and Israel ambassador, but all eyes were on the United States.

US envoy-designate Linda Thomas-Greenfield is still to be confirmed by the Senate, so acting US ambassador to UN Richard Mills was the messenger to convey the changes.

“Under the new administration, the policy of the United States will be to support a mutually agreed two-state solution, one in which Israel lives in peace and security alongside a viable Palestinian state,” stated Mills.

Ahead of this meeting, there had been two significant development in the region. Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas announced a calendar of elections this year – legislative on May 22, presidential on July 31 and National Council on August 31.

On the Israel side, there was an acceleration in developing around 2,700 settlement houses in West Bank.

There was no specific reference to the election announcement or new settlement housing. But Mills did bring in a critical view of settlements in a sentence urging both Israel and Palestine to bridge the trust deficit by taking specific steps. “In this vein, the United States will urge Israel’s government and the Palestinian Authority to avoid unilateral steps that make a two-state solution more difficult, such as annexation of territory, settlement activity, demolitions, incitement to violence, and providing compensation for individuals imprisoned for acts of terrorism.”

Also read: UNSC Watch: In New York, India’s Balancing Act Between West and Russia Over Belarus

Mills then announced that the US would restore aid to Palestinians and re-open the Palestinian embassy. “President Biden has been clear in his intent to restore US assistance programs that support economic development and humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people and to take steps to re-open diplomatic missions that were closed by the last US administration.”

US had closed down PLO’s diplomatic mission in Washington in 2018 on the grounds that Palestinian leaders had not engaged with Washington’s peace effort and tried to get International Criminal Court (ICC) to begin an investigation of Israel. The Trump administration also closed down its US consulate general in Jerusalem which dealt with Palestinian affairs by merging it with the newly relocated US embassy to Israel in the divided city.

The anticipation of the Biden administration’s approach having a more positive impact was evident from the statements of most of the participants.

Arab League secretary-general Ahmed Aboul Gheit hoped that new US government would correct “unhelpful measures and policies and relaunch the political process”. Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki stated that it was time to “repair the damage left by the previous United States administration”.

In his intervention, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilead Erdan, spent a considerable amount of time arguing that Iran should be one of the main topics to be discussed in a debate on West Asia.

Slamming the Palestinians for refusing Israel’s offers, he asserted that the Palestinian government’s call for a peace conference was a mirage. “Don’t be fooled by this; it is only another distraction. Abbas knows a conference will not bring peace. The only way to achieve real peace is through direct, bilateral negotiations,” he said in his speech.

He also disparaged President Abbas’ announcement of elections, indicating that it was only done to curry favour with the new Biden administration.

India’s permanent representative to UN, T.S. Tirumurti welcomed the announcement of the elections and urged that all steps are taken to “ensure that these elections are held smoothly, fulfilling the democratic aspirations of the Palestinian people”.

Tirumurti also supported Palestine’s proposal to “hold an international peace conference with the participation of all relevant parties to achieve the vision of a sovereign and independent Palestine living side by side in peace and security with Israel”. He also had stated that India’s support for the peace conference was in the context of a comprehensive solution to the conflict by achieving the two-state solution “through direct negotiations between the two parties”.

No consensus

At the briefing on Libya for council members by the acting special representative and head of United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Stephanie Williams, India – as the new chairman of the 1970 Libya sanctions committee – should have also been briefing the council.

However, India was not able to present a briefing as chair. Sources stated that the chair’s report is usually factual and finalised through consensus between the 15 members. With some of the members taking a polar opposite stance on a few issues, there was no agreement on the chair’s statement..

However, India, in its own statement at the meeting, asserted that the credibility on the sanctions regime in Libya depends on its strict compliance. “Blatant violations of the arms embargo are a serious threat to peace and stability in Libya and need to be condemned. This Council should also look at options to address the issue of management of frozen assets,” said Tirumurti.

He also stated that lasting peace in Libya could only come after there was complete departure of foreign fighters. “We are well past the deadline of 90 days set by the Libyans themselves when they signed the Ceasefire Agreement for departure of all foreign fighters.”

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres had also called for foreign fighters to “leave the Libyans alone” .

US envoy Mills specifically named “Russia, Turkey, and the UAE, to respect Libyan sovereignty and immediately cease all military intervention in Libya”.

Also read: UNSC Watch: Now in Security Council, India Gets a Taste of Polarised Division in an Open Debate

Tirumurti also reminded that India had been one of the original countries to have raised red flags when the western countries pushed through resolutions 1970 and 1973 on Libya in 2011. “We had then conveyed our reservations on the way these two resolutions were rushed in the Council. India had called for a calibrated and gradual approach and stressed on the importance of political efforts to address the situation. Ten years down, enduring peace still remains a dream in Libya and the Libyan people continue to bear the brunt of actions taken by this Council and the international community”.

The other major debates last week were on covid-19, where several countries expressed concern that the gap in vaccination between the rich and developing world could impact international peace and security.

The Security Council also unanimously extended the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus till July 31, 2021. The resolution specifically raises concern about Turkey opening part of seaside resort Varosha on Cyprus’s east coast.

Next week

With the start of a new month, the United Kingdom will take over the presidency of the Security Council. While the programme of work for the month will be decided on Monday, there is expected to be two signature events on climate change to be chaired by UK prime minister Boris Johnson and UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab. However, these are not likely to take place in the first week of February, as the invitations for high-level participation has not yet been circulated to UNSC members.

This is a weekly column that tracks the UNSC during India’s current term as a non-permanent member. Previous columns can be found here.

‘Unimaginable Horrors’ in Libya’s Migrant Detention Centres

Captured on land, intercepted at sea, cuffed and injured by militias and human traffickers, migrants are sent to detention centres and exposed to every abuse possible.

United Nations: For over 10,000 migrants fleeing to Libya from war and violence, their fate often comes down to the mercy of human traffickers or the dark unknown awaiting in detention centres.

The northern shores of Libya – the largest departure point for African migrants hoping to reach Europe – is a hotbed for modern-day slavery. Captured on land, intercepted at sea, cuffed and injured by militias and human traffickers, migrants are sent to detention centres and exposed to every abuse possible.

“From the moment [migrants] step onto Libyan soil, they become vulnerable to unlawful killings, torture and other ill-treatment, arbitrary detention, unlawful deprivation of liberty and rape,” according to a report by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

Also read: Migrants Cheer as Rescuers Tell Them “Libya Is Over”

However, not only has Libyan authority taken no measures to systematically address the issue, it has expanded its migrant detention capability with the aid of European governments.

‘Serious health threat’

The detention centres, controlled by Libya’s Ministry of Interior and guarded by the militias of the Government of National Accord (GNA), often hold hundreds of migrants in overcrowded spaces without proper ventilation or drinkable water.

“In some parts of the centre, toilets are overflowing and are in urgent need of repair. As a result, solid waste and garbage has piled up inside the cell for days and presents a serious health threat,” a spokesperson for the UN’s refugee agency said in a statement.

Poor sanitation has led to deteriorating health conditions inside the detention centres, causing multiple disease outbreaks.

The medical humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has called the situation “a disaster,” noting that hundreds of detained migrants use “four barely functioning toilets, no shower and only sporadic access to water” in a visit to Zintan detention centre.

Dr. Hussein Hassan, emergency coordinator from the World Health Organization (WHO) Libya office, told IPS: “TB with other respiratory infections, HIV and skin diseases are some of the conditions that migrants in more than 34 centres are suffering from.”

Migrants sit at a detention centre in Gharyan. Photo: Reuters

Although a TB screening campaign was done in January, those tested positive for TB were kept in the same room with the rest. According to Dr. Hassan, 16 migrants contracted with TB are in worse condition due to interruptions in medical treatment and lack of proper referral system.

An internal UN report leaked to the Irish Times said that more than 80% of migrants in Zintan detention centre may have been infected with TB.

But TB is not the only disease present in the health crisis, according to MSF.

“Many of them suffer from malnutrition, skin infections, acute diarrhoea, respiratory tract-infections and other ailments, as well as inadequate medical treatment,” MSF said in a statement. “Children are held with adults in same squalid conditions.”

However, help is not on the way. Libyan law forbids non-citizens access to public health services, effectively denying migrants proper medical care. Humanitarian organisations are often restricted entry into the centres, causing delays in treatment.

“We have been abandoned here, I cannot go back and no one wants us anywhere,” an Eritrean refugee told MSF. “I don’t know where my place on earth is.”

‘We’re dying’

Exploited by human traffickers and traded as commodities, migrants fear for their daily survival.

“Migrants held in the centres are systematically subjected to starvation and severe beatings, burned with hot metal objects, electrocuted and subjected to other forms of ill-treatment with the aim of extorting money from their families through a complex system of money transfers,” the UNSMIL report said.

Following the bloody civil war in 2011 that brought down military dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Libya fell in the hands of rival factions and Islamist groups. Two forces in the west and north fought to control the country’s oil fields. The period of lawlessness gave rise to smuggling and trafficking along Libya’s borders and coastlines.

Most migrants enter through the country’s southern border. But the warfare between the Libyan National Army and the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) has left southern Libya lawless and unpatrolled.

Also read: Libya: Fighting in Southern Tripoli Kills 187, More Than 1,000 Wounded

Human traffickers and well-armed militias intercept migrants en route to Tripoli, buying off government officials to sell migrant labor at prices as cheap as a few hundred dollars.

Traffickers have created an online market for illegal weapons despite the arms embargo posed by the UN Security Council, adding further uncertainty to the political situation.

“Seemingly unlimited arms supply fuels the erroneous belief in a military solution to the conflict and contributes to the unwillingness of actors on the ground to agree to a ceasefire,” said Jürgen Schulz, Deputy Permanent Representative of Germany to the UN.

Amid the chaos, migrants are left helpless.

“Countless migrants and refugees lost their lives during captivity by smugglers, after being shot, tortured to death, or simply left to die from starvation or medical neglect,” the UNSMIL report added. “Across Libya, unidentified bodies of migrants and refugees bearing gunshot wounds, torture marks and burns are frequently uncovered in rubbish bins, dry river beds, farms and the desert.”

“We are dying,” detainees told the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). “We live like animals; they beat us everyday.”

‘Complicit in tragedy’

Libyan law groups migrants, political refugees and asylum seekers in the same category under the supervision of the Interior Ministry of Department of Combating Illegal Migration (DCIM).

Even if migrants manage to escape from human traffickers and the DCIM’s search and capture along the northern coastline, European patrol ships in the Mediterranean Sea intercept and return migrant boats to Libya.

The European Union (EU) has invested millions of euros in the Libyan Coast Guard in the name of “efficient border management,” fully aware that those returned can only expect indefinite servitude and abuse.

Also read: EU Accused of Supporting Human Rights Violations of Immigrants in Libya

Oxfam, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and dozens other international organisations condemned the EU’s move, calling the policy “complicit,” in an open letter in January.

“The actions of European governments have made it extremely difficult for search and rescue organisations to continue their life-saving work,” the letter said, calling an end to returning migrants to Libya.

Italy – where most migrants land after a journey across the Mediterranean – has been intercepting migrant boats and assisting to transfer migrants back to Libya since 2009. Although deemed a violation by the European Court of Human Rights’ in 2012, Italy’s effort to guard off African migrants has only intensified since then.

In 2017, the Italian parliament signed a legislation that deploys Italy’s Navy to Libyan waters, aiming to assist the Libyan Coast Guard to “fight against illegal immigration and human trafficking.”

More than 10,000 have died crossing the Mediterranean since 2014, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Yet for migrants fleeing from the insufferable, that stretch of water still represents hope.

(IPS)