The adopted Resolution 1973 this March 17, 2011 by the Security Council of the United Nations approves a zone of air exclusion above Libya and authorizes the recourse to all the means necessary to protect the Libyan civil population.

It thus puts a term at the debate as for the relevance of an military intervention in Libya, question which had found answer neither at the time of the extraordinary session of the European Council last on March 11, nor during the meeting of G8 a few days later.

China and Russia, which threatened to use their veto against a resolution calling for a military action, made their position less strict the latest days and abstained during the vote yesterday. One of the reasons of this turnaround is the strong support of the Arab League and the African Union for an action against Kaddafi’s armed forces. Two Arab countries, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, already announced their will to play an active role in military operations.

In accordance with this UN Resolution 1973, the military action should be limited to air raids, precluding any land operation. The future States coalition needs to act cautiously in avoiding civilians deaths as it was the case during the bombing Kosovo in 1999, killing more than 10.000 people.

It is also essential that the military intervention should include a humanitarian operation in favor of the local population suffering from the combats between rebels and Kaddafi’s armed forces.