AU security organ slams Nato over rights abuses

Council resolution into a human rights abuse tool in Libya instead of protecting civilians.
They also called for the review of the implementation of the UNSC resolution 1973 of 2011 that enforced a no fly zone in the North African country.

The AUPSC, of which Zimbabwe is a member, met at the AU headquarters from late Wednesday afternoon up to 2:30 am yesterday in closed sessions as the leaders discussed possible ways of ending the continued bombardment of Libya.

EARLIER REPORTS

The attacks have left thousands of people dead and several others injured.
Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Force, President Mugabe, represented Zimbabwe.

The leaders also discussed the situation in some troubled spots in Africa that include disturbances in Somalia, the Sudan and Cote d’Ivoire among others.
Speaking to The Herald at the Harare International Airport soon after arrival from the meeting yesterday, Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi said the leaders were concerned that Nato was seriously abusing the UN Security Council resolution.

“There are no Libyan planes flying, but bombardment of the country by Nato forces has intensified. This means the no fly zone resolution was achieved under false pretence. So the Summit demanded that the roadmap adopted by the High Level Committee on Libya be implemented. There must be a ceasefire in Libya. It is clear that the people of Libya must be allowed to determine their own destiny.

“For that reason, the Summit said members of the AUPSC should meet and review the implementation of the UN Security Council resolution number 1973 (of 2011). It is being abused by Nato forces and so the UN Security Council needs to revisit it to enable dialogue and the implementation of the AU roadmap,” he said.

The Summit also called for the immediate deployment of an AU observer mission in Libya.
The extraordinary session of the assembly of the AU on the state of peace and security in Africa said the observer mission would closely monitor the situation in Libya and provide independent assessment of the developments taking place on the ground.

The mission would be tasked to facilitate the subsequent establishment of a larger international mission that would include the United Nations, the League of Arab States, the AU and other organisations.
The leaders also resolved to convene in Cairo, Egypt on May 30 2011 to bring together the members of the League of Arab States, the EU and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.

There are also reports that the EU was adamant that there was no way in which one roadmap would be used to solve the crisis in Libya because the North African country belonged to three regional blocs.
They claim Libya belongs to the Mediterranean and Arab Leagues as well as the AU.

However, Minister Mumbengegwi dismissed such claims, adding there was no way an African country would belong to another group of nations in another continent.
“There is nothing like that. Libya is an African state and it belongs to Africa and is our member,” he said.

Meanwhile, President Mugabe and his entourage arrived home from attending the AU extraordinary Summit in Addis Ababa yesterday.
He was received at the Harare International Airport by Vice President John Nkomo, Defence Minister Emerson Mnangagwa, State Security Minister Sydney Sekeramayi, service chiefs and senior Government officials.

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