Libya Suspended from Human Rights Council

In a move designed to put more pressure on Muammar Gaddafi’s vicious regime, the United Nations General Assembly, consisting of all 192 member nations, suspended Libya today from the UN Human Rights Council because of the continued attacks on protesters. The resolution struck Libya from the council for “gross and systematic” human rights violations. “Mercenaries and thugs have been turned loose to attack demonstrators,” U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a speech delivered to the council yesterday in Geneva. “Colonel Gaddafi and those around him must be held accountable for these acts, which violate international legal obligations and common decency.” Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that over 1,000 Libyans have died in the protests against Gaddafi.