Libya action

The United Nations Security Council has authorised action against illicit oil exports from Libya until February 2020, and added planning and committing sexual and gender-based violence as reasons for sanctions over objections from Russia and China. The vote in the UN’s most powerful body on a resolution that also renewed asset freezes and travel bans on Libyan political spoilers was 13-0, with Russia and China abstaining. Libya plunged into chaos after the 2011 uprising that ousted and killed longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi and is now governed by rival administrations in the east and west. It has also become a haven for armed groups, including several from neighbouring countries, which survive on looting and human trafficking.