The Security Council extends permission to inspect ships off Libya

Benghazi (Al-Ittihad)

The UN Security Council extended for an additional year permission to inspect ships that raise “reasonable suspicions” of violating the arms embargo in international waters off the coast of Libya. News agency correspondents reported that the vote on the resolution was supported by 9 members, while the remaining 6 members abstained from voting.
The international resolution on the arms embargo gives member states, as well as regional organizations, the power to inspect ships on the high seas if it is confirmed that they are heading to or coming from Libya in the event that there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that these ships are violating the arms embargo resolution imposed by the Security Council on the country.
The resolution requires member states and relevant regional organizations to first seek in good faith to obtain the approval of the country whose flag the ship flies before carrying out any inspections and checks of its cargo.
Inspections are currently being conducted by the European Union’s IRINI, a process launched by the Union on March 31, 2020, with the aim of implementing and monitoring the international embargo on the supply of arms to Libya, and its geographical scope is located within the Mediterranean Sea.