The Libyan authorities are tightening restrictions on civil society organizations, based on a law issued during the Gaddafi era and revived by the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) this year, according to the Drooj platform.
Law No. 19 of 2001 includes a penalty of up to death for establishing or participating in illegal NGO’s, leaving the issue of granting legal status to accounts that push towards crushing civil society.
Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Civil Society Commission in the Presidential Council, Abdel-Haq Al-Qurayd, issued a circular calling on local civil society organizations not to carry out any activity, except in coordination with the commission’s offices.
Obstacles are being created in front of the activities of these organizations, although the 2011 Constitutional Declaration guarantees the freedom of forming political parties and associations. But civil society organizations are still being targeted due to the 2001 law, which grants government and security authorities the power to control them.
For its part, Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticized the systematic crackdown on civil society in Libya, and the intimidation policies including arbitrary detention of activists, malicious charges against them, and accusing them of working for foreign countries.
The organization had also directed clear criticism towards the Government of National Unity (GNU) which revived the Gaddafi era law. It stated in a previous report: “The Libyan authorities are crushing the civil society, using the application of laws as an excuse. The authorities should, instead, protect this space by supporting the right to form associations.”
“The government that revived this law has launched a campaign against non-governmental and foreign organizations, after months of increasing restrictions on the activities of civil groups, harassment, detention, and prosecution.”
The UN Fact-Finding Mission in Libya highlighted in a report the violations against civil society, indicating the existence of disturbing testimonies about attacks on civil society organizations, activists, and human rights defenders in Libya. According to experts, several restrictive laws and systems contribute to silencing civil society and journalists.