The General Assembly today suspended Libyan membership of the United Nations Human Rights Council because of President Muammar Al-Qadhafi’s violent repression of peaceful protesters demanding his ouster.

The vote by the 192-member Assembly, following a request from the Geneva-based Council itself last Friday that it suspend Libya, one of the top UN right’s body’s 47 elected members, was the latest measure taken by the UN, where the Security Council has already imposed sanctions on Mr. Qadhafi’s regime and requested that the International Criminal Court investigate it for possible crimes against humanity.