By a vote of 14 in favour, with Venezuela abstaining, the Council adopted a resolution under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which authorizes the use of force, through with countries and regional organizations could board ships for inspection, seize and even dispose of vessels suspected of being used by migrant smugglers.
Advertisement
Welcoming the adoption, Britain’s UN Ambassador Matthew Rycroft termed the migrant and refugee crisis as one of the greatest challenges to the world community.
“We also hope that member states will implement resolution 2240 in a comprehensive and accurate manner by scrupulously respecting the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries concerned and giving top priority to saving innocent lives and protecting human dignity in strict compliance with the relevant rules of the global law”, he said.
The United Nations refugee agency says almost 530,000 migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean Sea since January and about 3,000 people have died or gone missing during the perilous journey to find safety in the EU.
Over 1,800 migrants were rescued Monday from six vessels found adrift in the Mediterranean, off the coast of Libya, Italy’s coast guard said.
The resolution underscores that the intention is not to prevent individuals from exercising their human rights or prevent them from seeking protection.
Russia, which has security council veto power, had indicated it supported the draft resolution, but it was unclear how Moscow would vote, said diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity. Its approval is needed for such an operation, but the North African country remains divided between two rival governments, which the U.N.is trying to lead into a final peace deal.
A Libyan official with the Islamist-backed government controlling the capital, Tripoli, says they have detained 300 African migrants captured while boarding boats headed to Europe.
Military spokesman Mohamed al-Shamy said the migrants, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa, were captured Tuesday on a beach east of Tripoli.
The United Nations on Thursday proposed to a national unity government to the warring factions of the country. He said there was no proposal yet to pursue that.
The resolution however states that such authorization does “not apply to vessels entitled to sovereign immunity under worldwide law” and applies “only in the situation of migrant smuggling and trafficking of human beings high seas off the coast of Libya”.
Advertisement
Information for this article was contributed by Rami Musa of The Associated Press.
