The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) welcomed the appointment of members of a team of independent experts to document allegations of human rights violations and abuses in Libya.
On Wednesday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, who appointed the team, said the move was necessitated by the “deteriorating security situation in Libya and the absence of a functioning judicial system.”
The members are: Mohamed Auajjar of Morocco, who will be the chairperson, Tracy Robinson of Jamaica and Chaloka Beyani of Zambia/UK.
UNSMIL said the appointment was a timely one as it came during a period when Libyans were in serious need of justice and accountability.
“UNSMIL reiterates its strong support for a full and impartial investigation into alleged abuses and violations of international humanitarian and human rights law since the start of 2016,” UNSMIL said.
Some of the violations and abuses alleged, Bachelet said, are: summary executions and other unlawful killings, torture and ill-treatment, gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence, abductions, enforced disappearances and incitement to violence on social media.
UNSMIL also urged Libyan authorities to extend their full cooperation to the Mission. This, it added, was “as a critical step calls towards ending impunity and preventing further human rights violations and abuses in Libya.”
The Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Libya is expected to provide an oral update at the Human Rights Council next month while a comprehensive written report will be presented at a date to be specified in 2021.
Last year, the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, said she will open investigations into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity following the discovery of multiple mass graves in Libya.
Libya has been dogged by conflict since 2011, with the violence escalating over the last year-and-a-half as troops loyal to the UN-backed Government of National Accord battled the Libyan National Army (LNA) under the command of Khalifa Haftar.
