Corporate report

Libya - Country of Concern: latest updates, 30 June 2014

Updated 21 January 2015

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

The security and political situation in Libya remains volatile. Parliamentary elections were held on 25 June, with voting taking place in 1,592 out of a total of 1,648 polling stations. The technical aspects of the election were handled well by the Higher National Electoral Council (HNEC), with support from the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). The UK committed £600,000 to the UN Electoral Support Team working with HNEC to help plan and deliver effective and democratic elections.

Around 630,000 Libyans cast their vote out of 1.5 million registered voters, with turnout affected by Ramadan preparations, fuel shortages, and a general lack of belief about the outcome of the election. Security concerns forced 17 polling stations in central Derna to remain closed, while ten centres in Kufra remained closed due to blockades preventing the delivery of election materials. In the West, the Amazigh boycott meant that no candidates had registered and polling could therefore not take place in 28 centres. Violence in Benghazi, which resulted in seven being killed and over 50 injured, caused one polling centre to be closed prematurely. The day was further marred by the murder of Salwa Bugaigis, a prominent and outspoken human rights lawyer and deputy chair of the National Dialogue Preparatory Committee, in her home in Benghazi.

The Libyan government continues to struggle to exert full control over security in the country. There has been continued violence in the East, particularly in Benghazi, following the launch of Operation Dignity by Khalifa Haftar. Armed militias remain outside of government control and there have been periods of violence between groups, especially in Tripoli in May. There have been ongoing clashes in the south between Arabs and the Tebu minority. Additionally, the Head of the International Committee of the Red Cross Misrata Branch was shot dead on 4 June in Sirte.

The UK is working to help the Libyan government to promote participation, strengthen its security, justice and defence sectors, and expand the economy. 327 Libyan army recruits were sent for training in the UK in June as part of the UK commitment to improve the security capability of the Libyan defence sector.

On 10 April 2014, we launched our Human Rights Action Plan for Libya, which identifies four of Libya’s priority areas on which the UK can provide assistance by working in collaboration with the Libyan government and civil society groups. These are: Preventing Sexual and Gender Based Violence; Detention and Torture; Freedom of Expression; and the Democratic Process. The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) is also working closely with the Libyan government and plans to set up three working groups – on human rights, rule of law, and transitional justice – to discuss progress on these issues.

Preventing Sexual Violence

It is impossible to determine precise rates of prevalence of sexual violence in conflict in Libya as very few victims come forward. Anecdotal evidence and UN and NGO reporting suggests sexual violence was perpetrated against women, men and children, before and during the Arab Spring by Gaddafi forces and revolutionaries. Reports suggest rape of women by armed men occurred in homes, and that sexual violence is used as a tool in detention centres to extract information, humiliate and punish. There is a strong stigma attached to reporting offences and seeking assistance. It is common for survivors to take their own life or be outcast by their families. There is a complete lack of services for survivors, including access to justice.

The Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister led a delegation that attended the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict in London on 12-13 June. The delegation met three UK experts to discuss the implementation of the Council Ministers’ decree 119/2014 to support victims of sexual violence during the Qadhafi regime and revolution. They focused on legal reform, database management and psychosocial support. The Libyan delegation was fully engaged on the issue and recognised the importance of providing support for survivors of sexual violence. They expressed strong interest in working with the UK Team of Experts to help develop and cost the implementation plan, and we are exploring the feasibility of doing this.

The UK is focused on increasing capacity to prevent sexual violence in the security, justice and defence sectors, with a dedicated programme over the next three years to improve awareness within the police, judiciary and military and build better institutions; increase the protection and support to survivors by providing expert advice to the Sexual Violence Committee on implementing the decree; and challenge social attitudes and behaviour through an active media campaign which will encourage Libyans to talk about the issues. As part of these efforts, the UK held a local event in Tripoli on 8 June with 40 civil society activists to talk publicly about sexual and gender based violence in Libya.

Detention and Torture

The Libyan government continues to make efforts to improve detention conditions in state-run detention centres, but more progress is needed on implementing the recommendations set out in the UN Report on Torture and Deaths in Detention published in October last year. Approximately half of Libya’s detention facilities are under some form of government control, but in practice most are run by militias, and central influence is limited. UNSMIL reported in April that 10,000 people are currently held in detention, and there are ongoing reports of torture and deaths in custody, with perpetrators including judicial police and militia groups.

To date, only a small number of conflict-related detainees have been processed through the court system (both military and civil courts). It is estimated that approximately 90% of detainees are held without charge.

The Libyan judicial system is not yet fully functioning. Police officers, prison guards, lawyers and judges who left during the revolution have not yet all returned to their original positions. Court cases are often adjourned, rather than being dealt with immediately by judges. Intimidation, kidnaps and assassination of judicial leaders is common and has led to court system collapse in Derna and Benghazi. One element of the UK government’s Security, Justice and Defence Programme is to expand support previously provided by the UK, with the specific objectives of reducing both the number of people detained without charge, to ensure that detainees are held in conditions compliant with international human rights norms and standards; and to reduce the lengths of their tariffs.

The General National Congress’s Compensation and Grievance Committee (CGC) has taken work forward on appointing the Fact-Finding and Reconciliation Committee, which will be mandated to manage the Transitional Justice Law. With UNSMIL’s support, the CGC will work to ensure coordination between the different transitional justice-related committees, including the Sexual Violence Committee, Missing Persons Committee, and Abu Salim Committee. However, progress on the ground has been limited due to the political insecurity. The Libyan authorities began to try Saif al-Islam Qadhafi on 27 April via video link, along with 38 other former regime officials, following an amendment to the Libyan Code of Criminal Procedure to permit presence through video link. A number of international organisations have fair trial concerns.

Freedom of Expression

There has been a concerning increase in attacks upon journalists in recent months. In the space of three days in late May, a TV journalist and the editor of Burniq newspaper were killed in Sabha and Benghazi respectively. A further, unsuccessful assassination attempt on another journalist was also made in mid-May. There have also been a number of radio and television stations attacks in the last three months. These incidents demonstrate not only the ongoing lack of control exerted by the Libyan authorities over security, but also suggest a worrying downturn in respect of media freedom.

On World Press Freedom Day, the UK worked closely with the UN to hold a day of events in Tripoli. Over 100 journalists and Libyan ministers attended. Throughout the event, journalists advocated to improve standards of reporting and called for the end of assassinations and attacks on the media. The UK is also working to strengthen the capacity, quality and standards of journalists by funding two university media labs and a series of television programmes to promote a positive Libya and encourage free debate. A broader BBC media action plan is in place with the aim to provide support to public service broadcasting.

Democratic Process

The role of women in Libya, in terms of political engagement, has not improved, but there are reasons to be optimistic. Tripoli University has established a quota in its electoral lists for the student union, where there must be a minimum of one woman on each list. The Constituent Assembly is open to women’s views and is communicating with civil society activists as part of the constitution-drafting process. But decision making for women in public life and freedom of movement remain issues that need to be addressed. Civil society groups continue to work on developing a National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security in Libya, which they hope to present to the UN in October. On 12 June, the Foreign Secretary, Secretary of State for Defence, Phillip Hammond, and Secretary of State for International Development, Justine Greening, launched the UK government’s third National Action Plan on Women, Peace & Security. This sets out our ambition to put women and girls at the centre of all efforts to prevent and resolve conflict, to promote peace and stability, and to prevent and respond to violence. Six priority countries have been identified, including Libya. We are developing an implementation plan, which will be made available to the public later this year.

The UK is providing training to women’s groups to enhance their skills in leadership, including women in political processes and strengthening women’s participation in parliament.

We also remain concerned about the continuing absence of representation of minority groups on the Constitutional Drafting Committee. We will continue to encourage full representation of minority groups and interests in the constitutional drafting process.