In an interview with
MEMO, Commander of Operation IRINI Rear Admiral Fabio Agostini disputes the criticism that the operation fails to effectively enforce the arms embargo imposed on Libya by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), aiming to limit foreign interference in the country s internal conflict.
On the contrary, the Italian admiral asserts: In ten months of activity, Operation IRINI has demonstrated its effectiveness and impartiality [in] implementing the UNSC s arms embargo throughout its area of operations, regardless of the actors involved.
Operation IRINI was launched after the previous European Union Naval Force operation, code-named Operation Sophia, ended in March 2020. While Operation Sophia focused on illegal migration out of Libya, IRINI is tasked with enforcing the UN arms embargo and fighting trafficking out of the country.
By Sami Zaptia.
London, 15 January 2021:
Libya’s ambassador to the United Nations, Taher al-Sunni, stressed the urgent need to put an end to the losses suffered by the Libya’s frozen funds, calling for this issue not to be politicized because it concerns the right to preserve the wealth of the Libyan people allocated to future generations, the official state news agency LANA reported yesterday.
Sunni stressed in his intervention at the virtual meeting held between the UN Libya Sanctions Committee and the management of the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), that the purpose of the decision to freeze Libyan funds in 2011 is to preserve the funds of the Libyan people during the country’s current political transition period.