This essay discusses the human rights violations in Libya due to the ongoing conflicts between rival governments and militias. It highlights the issues faced by refugees and migrants, the collapse of the criminal justice system, and the efforts of Lawyers for Justice in Libya (LFJL) to promote human rights in the country.
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Running Head: International Human Rights International Human Rights Essay System04104 8/11/2018
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International Human Rights 1 Human Right Violations in Libya People in Libya are struggling between the fight between three rival governments and militias and armed groups. Tripoli-based Government of National Accord which is supported by the United Nations (UN) and the Interim Government based in eastern Libya compete and fighting with each other for territorial control and legitimacy. The clashes between the arm groups of these parties have dispatched hundred thousands of people from the country and force them to live without any facilities of food, electricity, health care and education (Mach). Peoples are struggling to access even the basic needs such as cloth, shelter, and food. Militias and armed groups are involved in thousands of human rights violations in competing with Libyan government and involvement in crimes such as carry out arbitrary detention, seizing the property of people, murder, torture, disappearances, kidnapping, unlawful killings, forced displacements and indiscriminate attacks. The militias and criminal gangs have kidnapped journalists, politicians, and civilian people and ask ransom for political and monetary gain. A few days back 3 children who were kidnapped for ransom, found to be buried in woods near their hometown Shershary. Large number of peoples including asylum seekers, women and children, gather together and struggling for migrate from Libya to European countries, experience sexual harassment and assault, torture, rape of small girls and women, facing forced labour by coast guard forces, prison guards, and smugglers during try to cross the Mediterranean and entering in European countries (Bosse 83). The rivalry between forces aligned with all governments and a large number of militias continue to clash with each other that arises the situations where more than half-a-million people internally displaced to another place. The number may be far more than estimation because the international organisations who published these data are very rare and limited presence in the country (Cuttitta 783-803). UN in its report, “UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL)” reviews the issues related to the detention of people in Libya after the signing of the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA). The ICC (International Criminal Court) failed to do anything or open any new investigation over these issues in Libya even they have right of jurisdiction over Libya provided by the UN Security Council. The criminal justice system has been totally collapsed in Libya since 2014 because most of the courts are shut down because of ongoing insecurity and internal conflicts. The court system including supreme court of Libya has remained dysfunctional and offering no prospects for accountability (Human Rights Watch). In the meantime, the Islamic State (IS) spread its terror in the country and implement their Sharia law which allows punishment for smoking and "immodest" dress.According to a report published by W.H.O, only 4 hospitals are functional up to 70-80% of their capacity and 17 hospitals are closed out of total 97 hospitals. The healthcare system is totally failed to provide any service to the civilians and local people. Refugee and migrants have been facing serious human rights violations by armed groups, smugglers, traffickers and guards who are working in government-run detention centres. The European governments also supporting the Libyan Coast Guard in stopping migrants from crossing the Mediterranean in order to reduce the number of refugees arriving in Europe. The smugglers are also involved with Libyan Coast
International Human Rights 2 Guard and returned thousands of migrants to the Libyan coast guards for intercepted these people and in return, they allowed to safe passage of boats without any investigation (Strauch 2421). The reality is that refugees and migrants are abused and tortured by these armed group and coast guard prisoners during the detention of these people and it was very difficult to estimate the whole scenario of human rights violations across the country. Lawyers for Justice in Libya (LFJL) in support with CIHRS, is continuing work to attract UN member nations towards the human rights violence in Libya. LFJL is an independent and non-governmental organisational body and is fully dedicated to promoting human rights in Libya (LFJL). The office of LFJL based in London and they also recruit people for the continuous human rights watch and observation in Libya. The LFJL provided a current status report in UN to encourage the UN member states to demonstrate their continuous efforts and commitment towards promoting the human rights and accountability for both past and ongoing abuses in Libya (Kersten). They urge to the member states for taking effective measures to monitor and control the on-going human rights violations in Libya, including violations committed by both government and non-government actors. But the group members of LFJL have to face too many difficulties in making the report on the human rights violations in Libya because there was tremendous pressure of armed groups, government and Islamic states to make any report on the present status of Libya and what are the situations regarding the human rights violations with refugees and migrants people of Libya (Lamont 382-399). The LFJL initiates different programs which aim to ensure that key human rights concern is prioritized all over the world during the decision-making process of Libyan human right violence. The LFJL not only raise the issue in the United Nations rather they linked people from various countries through social media (Mezran and Knecht 81). The LFJL is continuously fighting against those actors who involved in human rights violation in Libya. The members of LFJL, media practitioners and, publishers of Sawti reports are facing so many attacks by armed groups in Libya which causes heavy life compensation. The people connected with LFJL are continuously experiencing the intimidation, kidnapping, murder, bomb attacks, assassinations as well as attacks in their work premises and properties. The LFJL groups continuously work to make a new constitution for Libya and they work very hard upon it. The LFJL continuously work upon to build a constitution to protect the rights of people in Libya. They are focusing to improve the situation of refugee and migrant people who were captured by the Libyan coast guards and imprisoners. Still the members of JFJL group give their best and doing their work to attract the world towards the violence of human rights laws in Libya without any fear (Long and Yet). In addition to this, the report shares the perspectives of freedom of expression to its several stakeholders in Libya in order to discuss the current situation in Libya and give their ideas to overcome these difficult situations and recommend what is to be done. The JFJL also helps these peoples who are interested in freedom of expression rights and provide a core resource to inform the decision makers of future policymakers. The LFJL continuously launches Sawti reports which are based on the theme of freedom of expression in Libya which collects information from monitoring and observation of the human rights situation in Libya. The LFJL also work upon to build a fair constitution to
International Human Rights 3 protect the rights of people in Libya. The member groups, publishers, and media practitioners of Sawti reports are targeted many times by armed groups in Libya (Rote). The people who are connected with these types of reports of LFJL are habituated to continuously experience the intimidation, kidnapping, murder, bomb attacks, assassinations as well as attacks in their work premises and properties. Their family persons are also facing the problem of insecurity and threats of murder and kidnapping. In addition, interim governments have failed to eliminate current indiscriminate restrictions on freedom of expression and even introduced new provisions which further undermine and violate these rights (Zaptia). LFJL wishes the CDA to take the Dastoori report and help them in drafting the new constitution report for Libya, but still they are facing problems form the interim governments, armed forces and people of militias to implement the constitution in Libya and coarsely force them to do not initiate about to take any help of people in drafting the Libyan constitution (Trahan). The people of LFJL are continuously facing challenges from Libyan armed forces, armed militias, and Libya shield forces and even with the government of Libya. The LFJL continuously try to raise their voice in UN but there is no action taken by the UN member countries nor do they make any strict plan against the violation of human rights violence in Libya. Even the LFJL operates their activities from London based head office where they hire people for the monitoring and taking participation in the watch of those activities which creates human rights violations in Libya (Wuerth). Although, the Libyan government and all the members of the UN Human Rights Council should consider the Libyan human rights problems and adopt a resolution on Libya that monitor and report the activities to UN human right commission. The European country should also consider the issues of refugees and migrate people and must not support the Libyan Coast Guard to abuse and torcher those people of Libya who are already struggling with their lives in their own country and facing so many human rights violations from their own government.
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International Human Rights 4 References Bosse, G. “European Union policy towards Belarus and Libya: old and new double standards.”The European Union Neighbourhood: Challenges and Opportunities 16.1 (2016): 83. Cuttitta, “P. Delocalization, humanitarianism, and human rights: The Mediterranean border between exclusion and inclusion.”Antipode50.3 (2018): 783-803. Human Rights Watch “EU/Italy/Libya: Disputes over Rescues Put Lives at Risk.” (2018): https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/07/25/eu/italy/libya-disputes-over-rescues-put-lives- risk Kersten, M. “Justice after the war: The International Criminal Court and post-Gaddafi Liby:Transitional Justice and the Arab Spring” (2014): https://books.google.co.in/books? hl=en&lr=&id=sdwABAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA188&dq=Lawyers+for+Justice+i n+Libya+ (LFJL)&ots=sLy8PwlrDY&sig=cj8u2AbiPrrIDttiXn3NzuyzTuA#v=onepage&q&f=f alse Lamont, C. K. “Contested Governance: Understanding Justice Interventions in Post-Qadhafi Libya.”Journal of Intervention and State building10.3 (2016): 382-399. LFJL. “Ongoing Human Rights Situation in Libya” (2018): https://www.cihrs.org/wp- content/uploads/2013/02/Ongoing-Human-Rights-Situation-in-Libya.pdf Long, N. Y., and Yet, D. Y. “When Stopping the Smuggler Means Repelling the Refugee: International Human Rights Law and the European Union’s Operation to Combat Smuggling in Libya’s Territorial Sea”(2017): https://www.yalelawjournal.org/pdf/Strauch12_7_h7r66ocj.pdf Mach, M. “Severe Human Rights Violations in Libya”(2018): https://www.wordsinthebucket.com/severe-human-rights-violations-libya Mezran, K., and Knecht, E. “4 Actors and factors in Libya’s revolution."Political and Constitutional Transitions in North Africa: Actors and Factors16.0 (2014): 81 Rote, K. “Libya: Events of 2017” (2018): https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2018/country- chapters/libya Strauch, P. “When Stopping the Smuggler Means Repelling the Refugee: International Human Rights Law and the European Union's Operation To Combat Smuggling in Libya's Territorial Sea.”Yale LJ126 (2016): 2421.
International Human Rights 5 Trahan, J. “The International Criminal Court’s Libya Case (s)—The Need for Consistency with International Human Rights as to Due Process and the Death Penalty” (2017): http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/10.1163/15718123- 01751373 Wuerth, I. “International Human Rights Law: An Unexpected Threat to Peace.”Marq. L. Rev.101(2017): 803. Zaptia, S. “Thousands of human rights violations carried out by state-affiliated Libyan militias: UN report”(2018): https://www.libyaherald.com/2018/04/10/thousands-of- human-rights-violations-carried-out-by-state-affiliated-libyan-militias-un-report/