The UN Security Council on Libya: Legitimation or Dissimulation?

On 17 March 2011 the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) approved Resolution 1973. The Resolution empowered national governments acting alone or through regional organizations to ‘take all necessary measures’ to protect civilians and enforce a no-fly zone over Libya. Within 48 hours, armed forces from the United States, France, Britain, Canada and a handful of others launched aerial bombing raids against military and intelligence operations in Libya. These attacks would continue on a daily basis for the next eight months until the regime of Muammar Gaddafi collapsed and the leader himself was killed by insurgents. Ostensibly the Resolution and the no-fly zone were intended to protect civilian populations in the city of Benghazi that had been threatened by the Libyan president in response to rebel uprisings that had been taking place in the area since mid-February. The resolution marked a further escalation in the UNSC’s response to the deteriorating situation in Libya as it followed UNSC Resolution 1970 that had condemned the use of violence against civilian populations.