Humanitarian Intervention in Libya: Legal Analysis of the UNSC Resolutions and Jurisdiction of ICC with Linkage to Contemporary Challenges in National Security of Pakistan

Abstract

Given the mass uprising and resistance in Libya, the international community intervened on humanitarian grounds in early 2011. Consequently, long-ruling leader Muammar Qaddafi’s regime was overthrown. However, the Libya’s crisis posed threat to international peace and security that is of increasing concern. In this context, this paper focuses on humanitarian intervention in Libya by the international community post 2011. It discusses various legal aspects of the emergency situation in Libya. It examines the nature of violence carried out by governmental regime and addresses the conflicting events as well as imposition of various obligations on people in Libya, e.g., the applicability of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and legal aspects of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions. Further, it analyses the question of jurisdiction of International Criminal Court (ICC) in this regard. Based on analysis of the UNSC Resolutions and situation in Libya, the paper analyses the national security of Pakistan in order to ascertain growing and contemporary challenges. The argument developed throughout this article is that all sort of revolutionary violence in Libya is not legally justified under norms of international law and effective implementation of the UNSC resolutions is considerable in relation to protection of the civilians on humanitarian basis. Nevertheless, humanitarian Intervention must comply with norms of International law in all situations. In terms of security of Pakistan, it argues that Pakistan actively seeks a peaceful international order and there is further need of improvement in national security to overcome contemporary challenges. The paper concludes that growing violence in Libya has demanded altruistic comeback from international communal.