Sec. 2. Findings; statement of policy
1,467 words·~7 min read·
/bill/117/s/379/is/section-2A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress makes the following findings: The stability and territorial unity of Libya is critical to the security of the United States, Europe, North Africa, and the Sahel, as well as maritime routes in the southern Mediterranean Sea. AFRICOM has identified containing instability in Libya as one of its six main lines of effort in Africa and works to support diplomatic efforts to reconstitute the Libyan state and to disrupt terrorist organizations that impede that process or threaten United States interests.
On April 4, 2019, Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces/Libyan National Army (LAAF/LNA) movement, ordered forces loyal to him to begin a unilateral military operation to take control of Tripoli, the capital of Libya and seat of the Government of National Accord (GNA), an interim body that emerged from previous United Nations-backed negotiations which the United States Government and United Nations Security Council have recognized since 2015. Although the LAAF/LNA movement initiated the offensive, all parties to the conflict and their associated forces have since April 2019 failed to observe their obligations under international humanitarian law and increased the geographic scope of the conflict, including by using heavy weapons, aircraft, and armed drones provided by foreign powers in violation of the United Nations arms embargo.
Foreign mercenaries have reportedly also participated in the conflict. In November 2019, the GNA and the Government of Turkey signed a Memorandum of Understanding on maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean Sea, which was opposed by European Union member states and other countries in the region. On January 19, 2020, at a peace conference in Berlin, representatives of the Governments of Algeria, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Turkey, the Republic of Congo, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as regional and multilateral organizations, agreed to refrain from interference in Libya’s internal affairs, abide by the United Nations arms embargo, and advance a 55-point communique to resolve the conflict in Libya.
On January 30, 2020, then-United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary General
(SRSG)Ghassan Salamé asserted that the warring parties have continued to receive a sizable amount of advanced equipment, fighters, and advisors from foreign sponsors, in brazen violation of the UN arms embargo as well as of the pledges made by representatives of these countries in Berlin . On February 12, 2020, the United States Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs testified before the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, The task of bringing the Libyans back to the negotiating table has been complicated by the involvement of external actors. Libya is not the place for Russian mercenaries, or fighters from Syria, Chad, and Sudan. It is not the place for the Emiratis, Russians, or Turks to be fighting battles on the ground through intermediaries they sponsor or support with sophisticated and deadly equipment in pursuit of their own agendas. . On September 2, 2020, Acting SRSG Stephanie Williams described to the United Nations Security Council cargo shipments and dozens of military resupply flights to the LAAF/LNA and the GNA as an alarming breach of Libya’s sovereignty, a blatant violation of the UN arms embargo, not to mention the commitments undertaken by the Berlin conference participants . On October 23, 2020, conflict parties in Libya agreed to a United Nations-facilitated ceasefire which called for all military units and armed groups on the front lines to return to their camps, all mercenaries and foreign fighters to depart from Libyan territory, and all military agreements on training be suspended within three months of the ceasefire’s signing. Ceasefire enforcement is historically difficult in Libya, and as of February 2021, mercenaries, foreign fighters, and foreign militaries remained active there. On February 4, 2021, the United Nations Security Council requested an advance team be sent to Libya as a first step to sending monitors to observe the ceasefire. On November 13, 2020, UNSMIL announced that national elections in Libya are scheduled to take place on December 24, 2021. On January 20, 2021, Libyan leaders agreed to hold a constitutional referendum prior to the December 2021 election. On February 5, 2021, the 74-member United Nations-led Libyan Political Dialogue Forum reached an agreement on a unified interim Libyan executive to lead the country to national elections on December 24, 2021. According to the United Nations, since the LNA movement offensive began in April 2019, the conflict in Libya has led to the deaths of more than 400 civilians and the displacement of more than 200,000 people. Parties to the conflict in Libya have killed civilians, committed torture and abuse, committed mass extrajudicial killings, requisitioned the houses of civilians, targeted medical facilities, and blocked humanitarian access to food, health, and other life-saving services, worsening humanitarian conditions. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, as of December 2020, more than 574,000 migrants and refugees remained in Libya and continue to be at risk of killing, torture, arbitrary detention, rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence, forced labor, extortion and exploitation . Among these, between 1,000 and 3,000 migrants and refugees are held in official detention centers and many other migrants and refugees are believed to be held at other sites run by militias and trafficking groups . On January 19, 2021, at least 43 migrants died in a shipwreck off of Libya’s coast, highlighting the vulnerable position of non-Libyan migrants who are either subject to detention and abuses in Libya or are forced to undertake unsafe attempts to reach Europe. More than 100 migrants drowned in 2020 and nearly 100 have drowned since January 2021 in the Mediterranean. On January 21, 2021, the United States joined the Governments of France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom to remind all Berlin Conference participants of the need to continue to support a ceasefire, restore full respect for the UN arms embargo, and end the toxic foreign interference that undermines the aspirations of all Libyans to reestablish their sovereignty and choose their future peacefully through national elections . It is the policy of the United States— to engage regularly at the senior-most levels and assert there is no military solution to the conflict in Libya and that only a political process can secure United States interests, ensure a stable and unified Libya, reduce the threat of terrorism, and provide peace and opportunity to the people of Libya; to support the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1970
(2011)and 1973 (2011), which established an arms embargo on Libya, and subsequent resolutions modifying and extending the embargo; to support the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 2146
(2014)and 2362 (2017), which condemn attempts to illicitly export petroleum and refined petroleum products from Libya, including by parallel institutions which are not acting under the authority of the Government of National Accord; to promote unified and effective Libyan oversight over the Libyan National Oil Corporation, the Central Bank of Libya, and the Libyan Investment Authority; to enforce Executive Order 13726 (81 Fed. Reg. 23559; relating to blocking property and suspending entry into the United States of persons contributing to the situation in Libya (April 19, 2016)), designed to target individuals or entities who threaten the peace, security, and stability of Libya ; to employ sanctions and support war-crimes prosecution, against any and all parties engaging in attacks on civilians, medical workers, and critical infrastructure, including water supplies, in Libya; to contribute to the peace and stability of Libya, prevent destabilizing arms shipments, and support efforts to safeguard Libya’s oil resources in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolutions 2259 (2015), 2278 (2016), 2362 (2017), and 2473 (2019); to leverage diplomatic relations to convince the parties to the conflict in Libya to de-escalate and persuade foreign powers to stop providing weapons and financing that exacerbate the conflict; to encourage the parties to continue to engage in the political process led by UNSMIL; to support the United Nations-mediated political process, which seeks a negotiated and peaceful solution to the Libyan crisis; that a negotiated and peaceful political solution should include a transitional, civilian-led government representing all Libyans, preparations for credible elections, a fair and transparent allocation of resources, interim security arrangements, and a process to reunify security and economic institutions; to support constant, unimpeded, and reliable humanitarian access to those in need and to hold accountable those who impede or threaten the delivery of humanitarian assistance; to advocate for the immediate release and safe evacuations of detained refugees and migrants threatened by conflict in Libya; to assist implementation of UNSMIL’s plan for the organized and gradual closure of migrant detention centers in Libya and ensure robust protection assistance for refugees and migrants; and to support future democratic development and the economic recovery of Libya both during and after a negotiated and peaceful political solution.
Connectionstraces to 1
1 reference not yet in our index
- 81 FR 23559
Citation graph
cites case law
Cites 2Cited by 0 across 0 sources