The 66th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) opened on Tuesday, September 13. Greeting the new session of the UNGA, an Open Letter on Libya with over 300 signatures was delivered to the President of the UN General Assembly, to the President of the Security Council, and to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, according to a press release from the group Concerned Africans. (1) The letter “respectfully demanded” that “the NATO war of aggression in Libya should end immediately.” Also the cover letter said, “We call upon the UN Security Council and the General Assembly to act immediately to respect the sovereignty and self-determination of the Libyan people as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. “

Chapter VIII of the UN Charter, the letter explained, provides for a relevant regional organization to be supported in working toward a peaceful resolution of a conflict such as that which developed in Libya. The African Union drafted a Road Map to provide a process toward a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Libya.(2) The bombing by NATO of one side in the conflict and support for the other side has made such a peaceful resolution impossible. The Open Letter on Libya by Concerned Africans states, however, that the “AU Road Map remains the only way to peace for the people of Libya.”

The Concerned Africans have set up a web site. The url is http://www.concernedafricans.co.za Their letter is one of the first indications at the UN that among people in Africa and around the world, there is a fundamental criticism of how the UN has allowed NATO to wage war against Libya and its people with little or no condemnation at the UN. This letter appears to be but one of a growing effort of people around the world to let the UN know that there are people watching the UN and who are “immensely pained and angered” by the way “fellow Africans in Libya are, and have been subject to the fury of war by foreign powers which have disregarded the noble and very relevant vision enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.” (3)

Notes

1.Web site for Concerned Africans
http://www.concernedafricans.co.za/

2. The Road Map included the following steps:
(i) the immediate cessation of all hostilities;
(ii) the cooperation of the concerned Libyan authorities to facilitate the diligent delivery of humanitarian assistance to the needy populations;
(iii) the protection of foreign nationals, including African migrant workers living in Libya; and
(iv) the adoption and implementation of political reforms necessary for the elimination of the causes of the current crisis.

In addition, the AU Committee:
(i)made an urgent appeal to all parties concerned, namely the Government of Libya and the National Transitional Council (NTC), to observe, without any further delay, a comprehensive cessation of hostilities and to take other measures aimed at defusing tension and ensuring the protection of the civilian population.
(ii)In this respect, the Committee invited the Libyan authorities and the NTC to a meeting to be convened, as soon as possible, in Addis Ababa or in any other venue agreeable to the parties, to discuss this Roadmap, in particular the establishment and the management of an inclusive transitional period that would lead to political reforms meeting the aspirations of the Libyan people.
http://au.int/en/dp/ps/sites/default/files/2011_mar_11_psc_265theeting_libya_communique_en.pdf

3.Another effort to let the Security Council know that there is condemnation of the NATO bombing of Libya has been initiated by U.S. Citizens for Peace and Justice in Rome, Italy.
See “Take Part in the E-Mail Campaign Against the U.S./NATO War in Libya”
http://www.peaceandjustice.it/libya.php