By : Manal Banana
Libya’s population is facing countless human rights violations, according to the report of the fact-finding mission presented at the 39th meeting of the 48th session of the Human Rights Council. The collapse of the Qadhafi regime in 2011, the division of the state and the proliferation of weaponry and militias fighting for control of territory and resources have severely depleted Libya's rule of law. The Libyan government seems to be taking advantage of the situation to commit violations and abuses of international human rights law affecting the most vulnerable, including women, children, ethnic minorities, migrants, asylum seekers, and internally displaced people. The violence has also had a major effect on the Libyan economic fabric as well as civic space, particularly for women.
Several reports have stated that the State and armed groups arbitrarily imprison individuals considered a potential threat to their own interests or beliefs. Prisoners face systematic and deliberate violence in these prisons. The Mission investigated the following official and unofficial prison camps: Mitiga and Ghniwa (Tripoli region), Al-Koweifya, Gernada, and Tarik Bin Ziyed (Benghazi area), as well as (ex-MoD) Seket and (ex-MoJ) Al-Jawyah (Misrata area). The majority of these prisoners were never prosecuted, convicted, or sentenced to imprisonment through a fair and public hearing. Many are held incommunicado, some in secret prisons that do not exist officially, for years at a time, with no possibility of release.
Families of prisoners are not told of their loved one's fate. Torture is a well-known feature of the punishment. The Mission reported many instances of summary executions, and deaths resulting from torture, hunger, unhygienic conditions, and a lack of medical attention. Sexual violence is common, especially during interrogation, and it can take many forms, including rape, threats of rape, or compulsion into sexual assault against other inmates. Women are especially vulnerable, and research suggests that men are not exempt to sexual violence.
Detention facilities are characterized by a lack of hygiene, food insecurity, and faulty medical treatment, and no separation of children and adults. According to the investigations, the above-mentioned inhumane actions are done against everyone seen a threat to the leadership of the state or to the interests and ideologies (including religious or moral beliefs) of militias. The majority of the victims are civilians. Based on the testimonies gathered by the Mission and corroborated by reliable reports, there is reasonable ground to believe that these prisons are part of a systematic and widespread policy of deterrence against anyone who contradicts national and/or militias’ interests. According to information received by the Mission, the State controls several of the above-mentioned prisons through militia networks. The prisons all follow a pattern of widespread and systematic violence within their gates. Libyan authorities reject to hold offenders responsible when they are not personally involved in the performance of inhumane crimes. There is reason to believe that acts of murder, torture, imprisonment, rape, and enforced disappearances committed in prisons are committed on such a large scale and with such a level of organization that they constitute a systematic and widespread attack against the civilian population.
NGOs and interested delegates raised their concerns regarding human rights in Libya and expressed their support for Libya's integration with the Fact Finding Mission. Delegations noted that elections should be organized and held according to democratic rules. The government should sentence those responsible for neglecting due process and human rights. So many of those who spoke up against injustice have been arrested.
Geneva International Center for Justice calls for the government and all involved parties to respect international standards regarding detention, and for all parties to cease all human rights violations. Due process and a fair trial must be granted to all prior to imprisonment. Militias can under no circumstance substitute themselves to government officials and shall halt arbitrary arrests. The conditions of detention must change entirely. The government needs to take into account to Mission’s findings and work together with the UN to create disarmament programs to neutralize militias, which pose a real threat to the population's safety and the government's effective territorial control. The government should respond to claims of arbitrary arrests on grounds of political ideology and demonstrate its willingness to combat militias.
Justice, Human rights, Geneva, geneva4justice, GICJ, Geneva International For Justice
