A/HRC/17/44 bombing and Libyan forces sought to regain control of territory with fighting also continuing in Misrata. 31. On 2 March in Benghazi, NTC, led by Mustafa Abdul Jalil (the former Minister of Justice) was established by virtue of the Council issuing its first decree forming the Council and declaring itself to be the “sole representative of all Libya”. It has subsequently been recognized by France, Gambia, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Maldives and Qatar. 32. On 17 March, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 1973 (2011), establishing a no-fly zone over Libya and the taking of “all necessary measures” to protect civilians against Government forces. Airstrikes began on 19 March under initial leadership of the France, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America. NATO took control of the military operations on 31 March. 33. The conflict has already caused significant internal displacement and movement of persons into neighbouring countries. As of 20 May, some 814,022 persons were reported to have left Libya.17 Amongst this group, 322,26218 are estimated to be Libyan. A majority of those who have crossed borders are migrant workers. 34. International statements and actions: There has been a strong response from the international community in relation to the alleged violations of human rights occurring in Libya, with a particular focus on the protection of civilians. The Human Rights Council held a special session of the Human Rights Council on 25 February. On 26 February, the Security Council passed resolution 1970 (2011), imposing sanctions on the Qadhafi regime and referring the situation in Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to the International Criminal Court before deciding on 17 March upon the imposition of the no-fly zone in resolution 1973 (2011). The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya was suspended from the Human Rights Council on 1 March by General Assembly resolution 65/265. 35. On 6 March, former Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdelilah al-Khatib was appointed Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Libya. Statements of concern on various aspects of human rights and humanitarian law violations have been issued by a number of United Nations senior officials and mandate holders, including the Secretary-General,19 the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 20 the Chair of the Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries (speaking on behalf of all special procedure mandate holders at the fifteenth special session of the Human Rights Council),21 the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict,22 the Working Group on Enforced or 17 18 19 20 21 22 Of these 402,981 persons have crossed into Tunisia, 286,515 into Egypt, 66,337 into Niger, 24,663 into Chad, 18,674 into Algeria and 2800 into Sudan. See OCHA, “Situation Report No. 38: Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Crisis”, 20 May 2011. Available from http://northafrica.humanitarianresponse.info/Reports/SituationReports.aspx. Italy has also received significant numbers of persons fleeing from Libya. According to a communication received from the Italian Interior Ministry, dated 28 may 2011, 14,642 had arrived to Italy since the beginning of the Libyan crisis, mainly to the island of Lampedusa. See International Organization for Migration, “Response to the Libyan Crisis”, External Situation Report, 23 May 2011. Available from www.migration-crisis.com/libya/page/index/2. Statement of the Secretary-General dated 16 May 2011, SG/SM/13572. In addition to her statement during the Council‟s debate on 25 February 2011, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay, issued statements concerning Libya on 10 March 2011 (“Pillay condemns Libyan Security Forces violence against journalists”), and on 20 April 2011 (“Libya‟s indiscriminate attacks on civilians in Misrata may be international crimes”). See statement of José-Luis Gomez del Prado to the special session of the Human Rights Council, 25 February 2011. Statements of Radhika Coomaraswamy on protection of children in Libya on 9 March 2011 and statement on the situation of children in Misrata on 19 April 2011. 13