10 EU humanitarian assistance to Libya
| (32626)
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| Council Decision on a European Union military operation to support humanitarian assistance and protection of civilians in response to the crisis situation in Libya (EUFOR Libya)
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| Legal base | Article 28 and 43(2) TEU; unanimity
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| Department | Foreign and Commonwealth Office
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| Basis of consideration | EM of 29 March 2011
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| Previous Committee Report | None; but see (32606) — and (32610) —: HC 428-xxi (2010-11), chapter 9 (23 March 2011) and (32546) — and (32549) —: HC 428-xviii (2010-11), chapter 12 (2 March 2011)
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| To be discussed in Council | 30 March 2011
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared
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Background
10.1 On 23 February 2011 the European Union expressed its grave
concern over the situation unfolding in Libya; strongly condemned
the violence and use of force against civilians; deplored the
repression against peaceful demonstrators; and reiterated its
call for an immediate end to the use of force and for steps to
address the legitimate demands of the population.[41]
10.2 On 26 February 2011, the UN Security Council
adopted UNSCR 1970 (2011). Deploring what it called "the
gross and systematic violation of human rights" in strife-torn
Libya, the Security Council demanded an end to the violence and
decided to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court
while imposing an arms embargo on the country and a travel ban
and assets freeze on the family of Muammar Al-Qadhafi and certain
Government officials. It authorized all Member States to seize
and dispose of military-related materiel banned by the text. It
called on all Member States to facilitate and support the return
of humanitarian agencies and make available humanitarian and related
assistance in Libya and expressed its readiness to consider taking
additional appropriate measures as necessary to achieve that.[42]
10.3 We subsequently considered the relevant Council
Decision and implementing Council Regulation at our meeting on
3 March 2011. The Council Decision and Regulation raised no questions
per se, but we reported them to the House nonetheless because
of the widespread interest in the situation in Libya.[43]
10.4 On 17 March 2011, demanding an immediate ceasefire
in Libya, including an end to the current attacks against civilians,
which it said might constitute "crimes against humanity",
the UN Security Council imposed a ban on all flights in the country's
airspace — a no-fly zone — and tightened sanctions
on the Qadhafi regime and its supporters. In adopting Resolution
1973 (2011) by a vote of ten in favour to none against, with five
abstentions (Brazil, China, Germany, India, Russian Federation),
the Council authorized Member States, acting nationally or through
regional organizations or arrangements, to take all necessary
measures to protect civilians under threat of attack in the country,
including Benghazi, while excluding a foreign occupation force
of any form on any part of Libyan territory.
10.5 On 21 March 2011, the Foreign Affairs Council
adopted conclusions on Libya that, inter alia:
— expressed
its concern at the present situation and condemned the gross and
systematic violation of human rights, violence and brutal repression
perpetrated by the regime against the Libyan people;
— expressed its satisfaction after the
adoption of UNSCR 1973 and underlined its determination to contribute
to its implementation;
— noted that, in addition to adopting additional
further restrictive measures against the Libyan leadership in
the form of additional autonomous designations of person and entities
with a view to preventing further funding of the regime, was,
on the basis of the UNSC Resolution, working on the further strengthening
of the measures with a view to their adoption ahead of the European
Council on 24/25 March 2011;
— said that it and the EU Member States
would support actions provided for by UNSCR 1973 necessary to
protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of
attack; and
— noted that the EU will continue to provide
humanitarian assistance to all those affected.[44]
10.6 On 23 March we cleared a Council Decision and
Council Regulation that authorised Member States to:
—
take the necessary measures to prevent the flights of aircrafts
under their jurisdiction in the airspace of Libya, save those
whose sole purpose is humanitarian;
— inspect vessels and aircraft bound to
or from Libya, if they have reasonable grounds to believe that
such vessels are carrying prohibited cargo;
— deny permission to any Libyan aircraft
to take off from, land in or overfly their territory;
— deny permission to any aircraft to take
off from, land in or overfly their territory, if they have reasonable
grounds to believe that the aircraft contains prohibited items,
including the provision of armed mercenary personnel.
10.7 The measures also extended the travel ban and
asset freeze to encompass not just the Qadhafi family and a range
of other individuals but also, now, state enterprises under the
control of Muammar Qadhafi and his family, and thus a potential
source of funding for his regime, viz:
- Central Bank of Libya;
- Libyan Investment Authority;
- Libyan Arab Foreign Investment Company (LAFICO);
- Libyan Foreign Bank;
- Libyan National Oil Corporation.
10.8 On 21 March the House adopted the following
Resolution:
"That this House welcomes United Nations Security
Council (UNSC) Resolution 1973; deplores the ongoing use of violence
by the Libyan regime; acknowledges the demonstrable need, regional
support and clear legal basis for urgent action to protect the
people of Libya; accordingly supports Her Majesty's Government,
working with others, in the taking of all necessary measures to
protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of
attack in Libya and to enforce the No Fly Zone, including the
use of UK armed forces and military assets in accordance with
UNSC Resolution 1973; and offers its wholehearted support to the
men and women of Her Majesty's armed forces."[45]
10.9 The Council Decision and Regulation raised no
questions in and of themselves. We nonetheless reported these
measures because of their political importance. In so doing, we
noted that the Minister was "doing a lot of preparatory work
in order to be able to take further measures very soon",
and asked him to do all that he could to continue to keep the
Committee informed about what was plainly a very fast-moving situation.[46]
The draft Council Decision
10.10 In this present context, the FAC Conclusions
also expressed the EU's readiness "to provide CSDP support
to humanitarian assistance in response to a request from OCHA[47]
and under the coordinating role of the UN",[48]
such actions to fully respect the UN guidelines on the use of
military and civil defence assets (MCDA).[49]
10.11 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 29 March 2010,
the Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington) explains that:
— the
Council subsequently agreed on 24 March a Crisis Management Concept
outlining the potential response;
— this would support the implementation
of UNSCRs 1970 and 1973 through the protection of civilians by
providing EU military capabilities to assist the UN in the evacuation
of refuges from the borders with Tunisia and/or Egypt or by providing
specialised capabilities to support humanitarian assistance;
— the European Council of Friday 25 March
2011 agreed that EU planning should continue;
— this Council Decision enables planning
for a potential CSDP military operation to proceed to the next
phase.
The Government's view
10.12 The Minister comments on the proposal as follows:
THE CRISIS MANAGEMENT CONCEPT
"We agreed an EU Crisis Management Concept (CMC)
on 24 March 2011 which sets out the conceptual framework of how
a CSDP operation might operate. This is an EU Restricted document,
but in summary it sets the framework for potential CSDP action
in accordance with the mandates of UNSCR 1970 and 1973 through
the protection of civilians by providing EU military capabilities
to assist the UN in the evacuation of refugees or by providing
specialised capabilities to support humanitarian assistance. It
also emphasised the need for further planning and preparation,
including ensuring close coordination and complementarity with
relevant humanitarian actors, in particular with OCHA, the European
Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (known as ECHO)
and other international actors including NATO.
WHAT DOES THIS COUNCIL DECISION DO?
"The purpose of the Council Decision is to allow
for further and more detailed contingency planning. It would do
this by designating an operational commander and headquarters
(probably in Italy). This planning is required so that the EU
can respond swiftly in case its support is requested by UN OCHA.
"It approves the readiness of the EU to provide
CSDP support to humanitarian agencies with two important locks
ahead of any mission launch. The first is that the launch of any
mission can only be considered if OCHA requests assistance, as
per the FAC Conclusions — this would demonstrate need. The
wording of the draft Decision will be tightened in this respect.
Secondly, the decision to launch a mission will need to be approved
by the Council when considering the operational plan which will
result from this next phase of planning.
WHY DO WE SUPPORT IT?
"The humanitarian situation in Libya and at
its borders is cause for concern and could be aggravated by migration
movements resulting from events. The EU and Member States have
already mobilised humanitarian aid working with the UN in evacuating
refugees and third country nationals from Tunisia. If there is
a deterioration in the humanitarian situation, and a request for
assistance is received from OCHA, the EU has committed itself
politically to be able to respond rapidly. This Council Decision
allows for prudent planning to take place that will help the EU
to react swiftly, but with appropriate locks, and we are therefore
supportive.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
"Once the Council Decision is taken, detailed
formal planning will commence. Should a request not be forthcoming
from OCHA, and the situation on the ground does not require a
CSDP operation within the parameters set out in the Decision,
then the Council can take a decision to repeal the Decision closing
the operational headquarters.
"If a request is made from OCHA for CSDP support,
then planning documents (an operational plan) can be considered
and agreed by the Political and Security Committee (PSC). Agreement
to launch a mission will be subject to a further Council Decision,
on which the Scrutiny Committees would be consulted."
10.13 Turning to the Financial Implications,
the Minister says that:
— in
the absence of a Concept of Operations and OPLAN, the likely cost
of a possible operation does not exist;
— Member States could be asked to contribute
to the cost of establishing an Operation Headquarters during planning,
but no indication of likely costs has been received;
— if a military CSDP operation is launched,
the costs would depend on the type of operation agreed in the
Operation Plan;
— the UK would be liable for the common
costs associated with any mission at 13.8% share, plus the costs
for any personnel/assets, if any, that it choose to deploy on
the mission.
10.14 With regard to the Timetable, the Minister
says that the Council Decision may be approved as early as Wednesday
30 March 2011 under expedited procedure, but is more likely to
be agreed later in the week. He expresses the hope that the Committee
will have the opportunity to consider this proposal in advance
of this potential decision, but will understand that "the
operational requirement to be ready to respond quickly in the
case of any urgent humanitarian need may need me to agree to an
override in these current circumstances."
Conclusion
10.15 We note that any decision to launch this
mission would be dependent on a request from the UN and a further
Council Decision. Since, no matter how circumscribed, this would
amount to an EU military mission, and in very challenging circumstances,
we trust that the Minister will do everything possible to ensure
that the Committee is able to consider it in a timely fashion.
10.16 In the meantime, we clear this Council Decision
from scrutiny.
41 See http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/cfsp/119453.pdf
for the full text. Back
42
Full details of UN Security Council resolution 1970 (2011) are
available at http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2011/sc10187.doc.htm.
Back
43
See headnote: (32546) - and (32549) -: HC 428-xviii (2010-11),
chapter 12 (2 March 2011). Back
44
The full conclusions are reproduced at the Annex to this chapter
or our Report, and available at http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/EN/foraff/120065.pdf. Back
45
See HC Deb, 21 March 2011, cols 700-806: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm110321/debtext/110321-0001.htm#1103219000001. Back
46
See headnote: (32606) - and (32610) -: HC 428-xxi (2010-11), chapter
9 (23 March 2011). Back
47
OCHA is the part of the United Nations Secretariat responsible
for bringing together humanitarian actors to ensure a coherent
response to emergencies and ensures there is a framework within
which each actor can contribute to the overall response effort.
For full information about OCHA, see http://www.unocha.org/. Back
48
See para 5 of the Annex to this chapter. Back
49
MCDA Guidelines (the Guidelines on the Use of Military and Civil
Defence Assets to Support United Nations Humanitarian Activities
in Complex Emergencies) provide guidelines for the use of international
military and civil defence personnel, equipment, supplies and
services in support of the United Nations (UN) in pursuit of humanitarian
objectives in complex emergencies. For further details, see
http://ocha.unog.ch/drptoolkit/PNormativeGuidanceSpecificIssues.html.
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