Libya arms embargo ‘totally ineffective’ – UN

The arms embargo imposed on Libya since 2011 is “totally ineffective,” say UN experts in a stark report released on Tuesday which underscores “extensive, blatant” violations by actors including its own member states.

The six experts charged with monitoring the embargo on the civil war-torn state pointed the finger at an array of international backers on both sides of its conflict, plus private mercenaries and non-state actors – including the Russian Wagner group as well as former Blackwater head Erik Prince.

They used photos, diagrams and maps to support their accusations in the report of 550-plus pages, which covers the period from October 2019 to January 2021.

“The arms embargo remains totally ineffective. For those member states directly supporting the parties to the conflict, the violations are extensive, blatant and with complete disregard for the sanctions measures,” they wrote.

“Their control of the entire supply chain complicates detection, disruption or interdiction,” the report continued, explaining that both factors “make any implementation of the arms embargo more difficult.”

The experts have been denouncing violations of the embargo for years.

Libya has been torn by chaotic war since a NATObacked uprising led to the toppling then killing of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The country has in recent years been split between a Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, and an eastern-based administration, backed by strongman Khalifa Haftar. But earlier this week, a unity government – chosen via a UN-supported process – was sworn in, raising hopes for an end to the conflict.

Haftar’s international supporters – including the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Russia, Syria, and Egypt – have all been singled out in previous UN reports or in the one published on Tuesday.