Libya allows UN to send humanitarian assessment team to Tripoli

2011-03-07 06:59:26 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- The Libyan government on Sunday said it will allow the United Nations to send a humanitarian assessment team to Tripoli, a UN spokesman said.

UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon spoke with Libyan Foreign Minister Musa Kusa on Sunday to discuss the fast-moving situation. Ban, during the call, "strongly appealed" for an end to hostilities in the country, as well as full compliance with Security Council resolution 1970.

"The Secretary-General discussed the increasingly troubling humanitarian situation, in particular the plight of migrant workers, and called on the authorities to ensure the safety of all foreign nationals and unhindered access for humanitarian organizations to people in need," Nesirky said. "In this regard, he suggested the immediate dispatch of a humanitarian assessment team to Tripoli, a request that was agreed to by the Foreign Minister."

In his telephone conversation, the Secretary-General called on the authorities in Tripoli to uphold their responsibility to protect the country's citizens and to "heed the Libyan people's legitimate aspirations to live in dignity and peace." He also urged the authorities to consider the best interests of the Libyan people, and listen to the united voice of the international community, which has demanded Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to step down.

Meanwhile, Ban also appointed the former Foreign Minister of Jordan, Abdelilah Al-Khatib, as his Special Envoy to Libya to undertake urgent consultations with the authorities in Tripoli and in the region on the immediate humanitarian situation as well as the wider dimensions of the crisis. Nesirky said Al-Khatib will visit the United Nations in New York before taking up his new responsibilities in the region.

Late last month, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to impose sanctions against Libyan authorities under Resolution 1970, slapping the country with an arms embargo and freezing the assets of its leaders, while referring the ongoing violent repression of civilian demonstrators to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

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