The UN Security Council on Monday unanimously adopted a resolution, calling on the Libyan authorities "to take all necessary steps to prevent the proliferation of all arms and related materials of all types, in particular man-portable surface-to-air missiles."
The 15-nation Security Council adopted the resolution out of its concern at the proliferation of all arms and related material of all types from Libya, and its potential impact on regional and international peace and security.
Such a proliferation is not unusual in a country locked in more than seven-month fighting to topple the regime of former leader Muammar Gaddafi.
The Security Council underlined "the risk of destabilization posed by dissemination in the Sahel region of illicit small arms and light weapons."
The Sahel is 5,400 kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east, in a belt that varies from several hundred to a thousand kilometers in width, covering an area of 3,053,200 square kilometers.
The Security Council also called upon the Libyan authorities to ensure the proper custody of the arms, as well as to meet Libya's arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation obligations under international law, through the full implementation of their plans in this regard.
The resolution urged the Libyan authorities to "continue their close coordination with the Organization for the Proliferation of Chemical Weapons, with the aim of destroying their stockpiles of chemical weapons, in accordance with their international obligations."
The resolution, drafted and tabled by Russia, was passed amid mounting fears that African militants, even terrorists can get shoulder-fired rockets and other weapons from Gaddafi's stockpiles of chemical weapons, observers said here.
Last week, Ian Martin, the UN envoy to Libya, told the Security Council that international inspectors have to visit hundreds of suspected weapons stockpile sites in Libya.
The Security Council also "calls upon countries in the region to consider appropriate measures to prevent the proliferation of all arms.
Meanwhile, the Council also urged member states, international and regional organizations and entities, including relevant UN bodies, to provide the necessary assistance to the Libyan authorities and States in the region in order to achieve this goal.
