Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (1986)

In response to a nightclub bombing in West Berlin on 5 April 1986, which was attributed to the Libyan regime under Muammar Qaddafi, the US carried out aerial and naval attacks on the Libyan cities of Tripoli and Benghazi on 15 April 1986.¹ A SC draft resolution condemning the attack by the US as “in violation of the Charter of the United Nations and the norms of international conduct” and as a “danger to international peace and security” was vetoed by the US, the UK and France (S/18016/Rev.1).

The GA then considered the matter as a regular agenda item in the GA’s 41st session. On 20 November 1986, by a vote of 79 for, 28 opposed, and 33 abstaining, the GA condemned the US attack and expressed its grave concern that the “aerial and naval military attack perpetrated against the cities of Tripoli and Benghazi” constituted “a serious threat to peace and security in the Mediterranean region” (A/RES/41/38). The resolution called on the US to “refrain from the threat or use of force in the settlement of disputes and differences with the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya” and affirmed the country’s right to receive compensation (ibid., paras. 2, 4). It also explicitly noted that the SC had been “prevented from discharging its responsibilities owing to the negative vote of certain permanent members” and expressed deep concern over the “threats and aggressive provocations, and the imposition of comprehensive cultural and economic sanctions, including the freezing of assets and properties, carried out against the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya” (ibid., emphasis added).