The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) and a number of human rights organizations warned against the lack of accountability in Libya.
During a briefing at a United Nations session on Libya, the NGO’s said the “absence of accountability will encourage more violence and impede efforts to achieve sustainable peace, especially given the recent escalation of violations in Libya.”
This came in response to Libya’s draft resolution requesting the continuation of the work of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on crimes committed in the country for “one final, non-extendable period of 9 months.”
CIHRS said that “this proposal would be a declaration by the United Nations that its efforts to ensure accountability for violations in Libya will soon end, regardless of the number of atrocities committed in the coming months.”
Libya’s representative at the UN Human Rights Council, Lamia Abu Sidra said that the mission should complete its work, without delay.
Notably, Head of the Mission, Mohamed Auajjar announced that the mission has documented 27 illegal detention centers across the country. In his briefing to the United Nations in Geneva, Auajjar said that the mission confirmed that children were recruited to participate in hostilities and war in Libya.
In the city of Tarhuna, there has been “widespread and systematic perpetration of forced disappearances, extermination, murder, torture, and imprisonment amounting to crimes against humanity. These were committed by Al Kani (Kaniyat) militias,’’ he said.
“We will present a list of suspects for whom there is criminal evidence of committing crimes against humanity in Tarhuna,” Auajjar added. He stressed that those responsible for human rights violations and war crimes in Libya must be held accountable.
He noted that “justice and lasting peace in Libya must be enforced, and those responsible for heinous crimes be prosecuted.” As well as affirming the need to achieve peace in Libya through free, fair, and transparent elections.