UNSC Resolution 1973 and its Impact on the Libyan Conflict By Tatiana Khokhlova* Abstract The article aims to analyse United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, which authorised Member States to use ‘all necessary measures’ to protect civilians in the Libyan war of 2011. As a response to the suppression of the protests by the Libyan government in February 2011, Resolution 1973 called for the use of force to protect the Libyan population from governmental violence. While presenting human rights protection as the legitimate purpose of intervention, some states, including NATO members, assisted rebels against the government and targeted Gaddafi’s infrastructure while presenting the removal of Gaddafi as necessary to protect the Libyan population. After Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown and killed, the ambiguous Resolution 1973 was marked by some states and regional organisations as a tool used by the Western powers and allies to remove Gaddafi.
* LL.B. Candidate, International and European Law Programme, The Hague University of Applied Sciences.
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