UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations on Tuesday suspended Libya from its main human rights body over Moamer Kadhafi’s crackdown on protests amid warnings of new Security Council action against the regime. With growing western calls for a no-fly zone over Libya, Britain’s UN envoy said the council would take “whatever measures we consider necessary to respond to events on the ground.”
The 192-member assembly passed a suspension resolution by consensus, without a vote, after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged the body to “act decisively” against Kadhafi. The Human Rights Council in Geneva had called for the suspension which needed a two-thirds majority at the General Assembly to be passed. It is the first time it has acted against a member.
