Late Saturday night, history was made in New York. Every member of the UN security council raised their hand to support a resolution condemning the gross violations of human rights in Libya.

Late Saturday night, history was made in New York. Every member of the UN Security Council raised their hand to support a resolution condemning the gross violations of human rights in Libya. They all voted not only to impose sweeping sanctions on Libya’s rulers but to refer the entire ongoing situation in Libya to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for investigations into possible crimes against humanity.

The United Nations Security Council’s unanimous resolution referring Libya to the International Criminal Court (ICC) sends a strong signal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his commanders, as well as other governments in the region, that the international community will not tolerate the vicious repression of peaceful protesters.

Human Rights Watch applauds the initiative of the Human Rights Council to hold a special session in response to the ongoing crisis in Libya. The council today should take whatever steps it can to address the serious human rights violations occurring in that country. In particular, Human Rights Watch strongly supports the proposal that the HRC "urgently dispatch an independent, international commission of inquiry...to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law in Libya in connection with the ongoing protests."

The United Nations General Assembly should immediately suspend Libya's membership rights in the UN Human Rights Council, 63 nongovernmental organizations from around the world said today.

A group of more than 60 nongovernmental organizations from all regions of the world calls upon the United Nations General Assembly to immediately suspend the rights of membership of the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in the UN Human Rights Council (HRC).

Several NGOs, including HRW, urge the Human Rights Council to act urgently to respond to the violent repression of demonstrations currently underway in the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. The Human Rights Council cannot be a passive bystander of such events, during which the lives of ordinary citizens have been taken or put at risk through violent and unlawful repression.