5 Making a Case
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Cambridge University Press
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The first Libyan demonstration occurred on February 15, 2011. By the same day, there were media
reports that civilians were in imminent danger of being killed by the Libyan army. The United Kingdom
(UK), France, and Lebanon proposed “Resolution 1973,” which was subsequently adopted by the United
Nations Security Council (UNSC) on March 17, 2011. They achieved the proceeding by invoking the
principle of Responsibility to Protect (R2P)–a doctrine that postulates that sovereignty is not absolute.
Thus, the committee of nations led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) validated the war in
Libya–allegedly publicizing and citing “humanitarianism” to overlook Libya’s sovereignty. The action and
inaction of NATO based on Resolution 1973 was criticized as loosely worded, verbose, and hastily
proposed under the guise of taking “all necessary measures” towards protecting Libyan lives. However,
suspicions grew over NATO’s silence on the part of Resolution 1973 that provided for mediation and calls
for a ceasefire. That is the part of the resolution that asserts that before considering the adoption of the
R2P doctrine amongst warring factions (rebel groups and constituted Libyan army) within sovereign
states like Libya, mediation and ceasefire options must have been exhausted. Hence, Hugh Roberts
argues that a sober understanding of the Libyan intervention will only come to light through future work on
those (which may include but are not limited to the international media) that manipulated the information
(Roberts 2011, 8). In a similar argument, Maximilian Forte indicted Western powers of using media as a
propaganda too
Keywords
H Social Sciences (General), HE Transportation and Communications