DUSHANBE, August 26, 2011, Asia-Plus — Billions of pounds of Libyan assets – including £12bn in London alone – have been frozen in recent months to prevent them being used by the Gaddafi regime, the BBC reports.
The US, UK and France want to unfreeze them to provide funds for the National Transition Council (NTC) and for humanitarian efforts. A draft resolution proposing such a move is expected to be presented to the UN Security Council later
According to Reuters, the United States on Wednesday asked the U.N. Security Council to unfreeze $1.5 billion in Libyan assets. No vote was held on the draft on Wednesday, but diplomats said a vote could come on Thursday or Friday.
The U.S. move to ask the Security Council to make a decision on a matter that would normally be handled by the council”s Libya sanctions committee came out of frustration with South Africa, which has refused to consent to the idea of handing over large sums directly to Libya”s rebel leaders.
Of the $1.5 billion, $500 million would go to international humanitarian organizations directly, a proposal the South African delegation says it does not object to. Diplomats say the South Africans, however, have problems with the U.S. proposal to hand another $1.0 billion to “third-party vendors supplying fuel and other urgently needed humanitarian goods” and to what the resolution describes as an “international mechanism” for providing social services. The South African objections have prevented the sanctions committee from approving the U.S. request to release the funds, first submitted to the committee on August 8.
Reuters reports that U.S. official say the United States alone has frozen some $37 billion in Libyan assets.
Meanwhile, in Libya, rebels are continuing to fight running battles with pro-Gaddafi forces in Tripoli, while Colonel Gaddafi himself remains on the run. The opposition political authority, the National Transitional Council (NTC), has put a $1.7 million bounty on his head.
The United Nations has called on all sides in the Libyan conflict to take steps to ensure there are no acts of violence and revenge. It comes as reports emerge of abuses and alleged summary killings by both rebels and troops loyal to Colonel Gaddafi.
The UN has also agreed to release $1.5 billion in Libyan assets – which had been frozen under sanctions – to help with immediate humanitarian needs.
