Abdullah Qadirboh, the Head of the Libyan Administrative Control Authority, affirmed his readiness to collaborate with the United Nations (UN) Security Council’s Libya Sanctions Committee in combating corruption within Libya.
In a statement released on Saturday, the authority announced that the meeting, which was attended by Libya’s representative to the UN, Taher El-Sonni, took place on the sidelines of the 10th session of the Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption.
During his visit to the UN headquarters, Qadirboh briefed the Japanese delegate on the nature and legal role of the authority in combating financial and administrative corruption. He emphasised the body’s willingness to work in tandem with the Sanctions Committee and its associated panel of experts on financial and administrative corruption issues, in line with relevant Security Council resolutions.
The Japanese delegate expressed full support for the collaboration with the Libyan Administrative Control Authority on all matters related to its work in Libya, aligning with the functions of the Sanctions Committee and the expert team.
Notably, the National Committee for Human Rights in Libya (NCHRL) accused the Security Operations Room of the Ministry of Defence, formed by the Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity (GNU), Abdelhamid Dbaiba of “executing acts of theft and plunder of public and private properties in the city of Gharyan, located in the Western Mountains.” The accusations extend to arbitrary arrests based on social identity, and political stances. The Committee has placed full legal responsibility for these violations and crimes against the citizens of Gharyan on Dbaiba.
These allegations were made amidst an environment of political turmoil, and military conflict that has gripped Libya for a decade since the overthrow of Moammar Gaddafi in 2011. The GNU, led by Dbaiba, was appointed in 2021 as part of a UN-led initiative to transition the nation towards democratic elections. However, the recent accusations indicate underlying issues of human rights violations and misconduct by government-aligned security forces.
In a statement, the committee expressed “deep concern over the grave humanitarian and security situations in the city.” They also noted incidents of “retaliatory actions through attacks on private properties, including arson and theft by elements of the Security Operations Room.”
The committee elaborated that the “actions and practices committed constitute severe violations of human rights and international law, escalating to the level of war crimes, as they were committed in the context of an armed conflict.” They also highlighted that these crimes are “punishable under Libyan penal and military laws.”