Statement by Ambassador Susan E. Rice, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, on the Removal of Remaining Financial Sanctions on the Central Bank of Libya and the Libyan Arab Foreign Bank

Susan E. Rice
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations 
U.S. Mission to the United Nations 

New York, NY

December 16, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The United States welcomes today’s decision by the UN Security Council’s Libya Sanctions Committee to remove the remaining financial sanctions on the Central Bank of Libya and the Libyan Arab Foreign Bank. This will allow the United States and other countries to unfreeze billions of dollars to help Libyans build their new democracy.

The financial sanctions imposed by UN Security Council resolutions 1970 and 1973 were important in halting Qadhafi’s slaughter of the Libyan people. Now, as Libyans develop their new state, these sanctions can be ended responsibly. The United States will continue to work with the new government of Libya to ensure that it has the resources and support it needs, and we will stand with the Libyan people as they leave behind decades of tyranny and chart a prosperous, democratic and secure future for their country.

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