UN Security Council resolutions on Libya and the significance of 'R2P'

While the United Nations Security Councils adoption of Resolution 1973 on 17 March 2011 may well go down in UN history as one of the more momentous occasions, not only for the UN but also the contemporary development of international law, for the time being the international community is fixated on the military implementation of the Resolution in Libya. Despite the relative speed with which the Security Council first acted on 26 February, when it unanimously adopted Resolution 1970 (which imposed sanctions against the Libyan regime in the face of a mounting humanitarian crisis, and then followed it up with Resolution 1973 only 19 days later), it was clear that no detailed consideration had been given as to how the military enforcement of the Security Councils mandate would be carried out. This dilemma, which highlighted the absence of standing UN armed forces notwithstanding the original intent of the framers of the Charter was initially overcome through the willingness of the British, French and the US to commit forces to the initial implementation and enforcement of the mandated Libyan no-fly zone.