UNITED NATIONS, 13 September 2003 — The UN Security Council voted yesterday to lift 11-year-old sanctions against Libya, with the United States and France abstaining.
A partial agreement between Libya and relatives of the victims of a 1989 French airliner bombing on Thursday cleared the way for the long delayed vote which was eagerly sought by Muammar Qaddafi’s government.
The 13-0-2 vote to lift the arms embargo and ban on flights to Libya was more symbolic than substantive because the sanctions have been indefinitely suspended for over four years.
The Council imposed the sanctions in 1992 to force Libya to hand over two indicted men for trial in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jet over Lockerbie, Scotland. Once they were turned over in April 1999, the Council suspended the sanctions indefinitely — but Libya had pressed for the embargoes to be lifted to restore its standing in the international community.
The UN action clears the way for the families of the 270 Lockerbie victims to be paid $4 million each. A number of family members were in the Security Council gallery to watch the vote
US Deputy Ambassador James Cunningham said the US decision to allow the lifting of sanctions “should not be misconstrued by Libya or by the world community as tacit US acceptance that the government of Libya has rehabilitated itself.”
“The United States continues to have serious concerns about other aspects of Libyan behavior including its poor human rights record and its rejection of democratic norms and standards,” Cunningham said.
