UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the Security Council to act quickly on a proposed
package of UN sanctions aimed at forcing Libyan leaders to end their violent crackdown in the country.
"It is time for the Security Council to consider concrete action," Ban told the 15-nation council this evening. "The hours and the days ahead will be decisive for Libyans."
The attacks against Libyan civilians may be "crimes against humanity" warranting prosecution by the
International Criminal Court in The Hague, according to a draft UN sanctions resolution circulated to members of the Security Council today.
Meanwhile, European Union governments reached consensus earlier today on imposing an arms embargo, asset freezes and a travel ban on Libya, but a formal decision will only be taken early next week, diplomats said.
After a meeting of ambassadors from the 27 member states, no objections were raised to the idea of imposing sanctions on Muammar Gadafy and his crumbling government, but the legal language and other details have still to be finalised.
"We expect a formal decision to be made early next week, possibly Monday or Tuesday," one EU diplomat said.
Another diplomat said the aim was to co-ordinate the move with the United States and the United Nations, where pressure is mounting for sanctions to be imposed via the Security Council.
The United States suspended embassy operations in Libya today and is moving forward with unilateral sanctions against Col Gadafy. White House spokesman Jay Carney said Washington would also curtail its limited military cooperation with Libya and that it supported suspending Libya from the United Nations.
EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton is expected to discuss coordinating the EU, US and UN action when she meets US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Geneva on Monday.
Some member states, including Cyprus, Malta and Italy, which have close ties to Libya, had raised concerns about moving too quickly to impose sanctions, especially as it is unclear whether Gadafy will still be in power in the coming weeks.
One particular concern is that about 3,000 EU citizens, many of them oil and construction workers, remain in Libya and have yet to be evacuated.
France and Germany are pushing to move more rapidly against the Libyan leader, putting further pressure on him to yield after more than 40 years in power and throwing diplomatic weight behind the growing popular insurgency.
Once member states take a formal decision on sanctions, the European Commission has to adopt the necessary regulations for the EU to go ahead, diplomats said. That will come after a Commission meeting next week.
Britain and France plan to present a draft proposal for sanctions against Libyan leaders at the UN Security Council today. A vote is expected early next week.
Russia and China, two veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council, have so far not objected to considering sanctions on Libya, although they are expected to try to dilute any proposed steps, diplomats have said.
Agencies