RES/31/27 Technical assistance and capacity-building to improve human rights in Libya

Human Rights Council Thirty-first session

Agenda item 10

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 24 March 2016

31/27. Technical assistance and capacity-building to improve

human rights in Libya

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,

Reaffirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and relevant international

human rights treaties,

Confirming the primary responsibility of States to promote and protect human rights,

Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and

territorial integrity of Libya,

Looking forward to a future for Libya based on national reconciliation, justice,

respect for human rights and the rule of law,

Recalling all previous relevant Human Rights Council resolutions on Libya,

Reaffirming that those responsible for violations or abuses of human rights and

violations of international humanitarian law and who commit acts of terrorism should be

held accountable, and that counter-terrorism measures must be consistent with applicable

international law,

Expressing concern at the impact of the security and political crisis and of terrorism

on the people of Libya, including loss of life, mass displacement and its particular impact

on women and children, damage to property and infrastructure, including schools and

hospitals, the use of schools as military bases and shortages of medical supplies and

treatment,

Expressing concern also at the impact of the security and political crises and of

terrorism on migrants, in particular the increase in the number of deaths of migrants

attempting to cross the Mediterranean,

Welcoming the Rome Communiqué of 13 December 2015, endorsed by the Security

Council in its resolution 2259 (2015) of 23 December 2015, and the commitment of the

participating Member States to provide technical, economic, security and counter-terrorism

assistance to Libya,

United Nations A/HRC/RES/31/27

Expressing full support for the efforts led by the Special Representative of the

Secretary-General for Libya to facilitate a Libyan-led political solution to the challenges

facing Libya,

Underscoring the importance of the equal and full participation of all parts of

Libyan society, including women and youth, in the political process,

1. Welcomes the signing on 17 December 2015 of the Libyan Political

Agreement of Skhirat, Morocco, by the majority of the Libyan delegates to the political

dialogue facilitated by the United Nations, and by a wide range of representatives of Libyan

society, municipal leaders and heads of political parties, as an important step towards peace

and reconciliation in Libya, and welcomes the endorsement in principle of the Libyan

Political Agreement by the House of Representatives on 25 January 2016;

2. Reiterates its support for the ongoing deliberations of the security track of the

political dialogue facilitated by the United Nations to finalize security arrangements, and

urges existing militias and armed groups to respect the Libyan Political Agreement of 17

December 2015;

3. Calls upon the Government of National Accord to fully implement the

political agreement, including the security arrangements, and to make progress towards

arms control and the reintegration into the community of the armed groups currently

operating outside government control;

4. Emphasizes the importance of the Government of National Accord exercising

control over and safely storing arms in Libya, with the support of the international

community;

5. Condemns all violations and abuses of human rights and violations of

international humanitarian law, including those involving unlawful killings, indiscriminate

shelling and attacks on civilians, abductions and assassinations, including of government

officials and judges, the shelling of hospitals and the looting of property;

6. Also condemns all violations and abuses committed against journalists, media

activists and human rights defenders, especially given their role in documenting protests

and human rights violations and abuses, and restrictions on freedom of expression;

7. Strongly urges all parties immediately to cease violations and abuses of

human rights and international humanitarian law and to engage fully in support of the

Government of National Accord, in order to avert further deterioration in the humanitarian

crisis suffered by Libyans as a result of the conflict and to prevent the further erosion of the

sovereignty and security of Libya, and urges all leaders to declare that violations and abuses

of human rights by their fighters will not be tolerated and that individuals suspected of such

acts will be removed from duty;

8. Strongly urges the Government of Libya to investigate all violations and

abuses of human rights, to hold those responsible to account and to guarantee fair trials for

the accused;

9. Calls for those responsible for violations or abuses of international human

rights law and violations and abuses against children to be held accountable, in accordance

with international standards;

10. Calls upon the Government of Libya to increase efforts to end impunity, and

takes note of its cooperation with the International Criminal Court to ensure that those

responsible for violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, including

attacks targeting civilians, are held accountable;

11. Strongly condemns practices such as abduction, hostage-taking,

incommunicado detention, abuse and killings carried out by non-State armed groups, most

notably the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Daesh), Ansar al-Sharia and

other terrorist organizations in Libya, and underlines that murder, torture and severe

deprivation of physical liberty in violation of international law are predicate acts that may

in certain circumstances amount to crimes against humanity, while reiterating grave

concern about the negative impact of the presence of Daesh and its deadly actions in Libya,

neighbouring States and the region;

12. Calls upon all Libyans to unite in combating terrorism in the country, and

urges all Member States to cooperate actively in this regard with the Government of Libya

and to provide support as requested;

13. Expresses grave concern at the number of conflict-related detainees,

including children, and at reports of torture and sexual and gender-based violence in

detention centres, and calls upon the Government urgently to establish full and effective

control over all detention centres in order to ensure that detainees, including foreign

detainees, are treated in accordance with its international obligations, including, as

applicable, those relating to fair trial guarantees and humane treatment in detention;

14. Calls upon the Government of Libya to promote, protect and respect the

human rights of migrants, refugees and internally displaced persons, and to provide a

framework for the engagement of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for

Refugees in Libya;

15. Expresses deep concern at the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Libya,

and calls upon the international community to provide financial support for the United

Nations humanitarian response plan for Libya for the period 2015-2016 to address the

needs of 2.4 million people;

16. Calls for rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access for United Nations

humanitarian agencies, their implementing partners and other humanitarian organizations,

including across conflict lines and, as appropriate, across borders, in order to ensure that

humanitarian assistance reaches people in need by the most direct routes;

17. Urges the Libyan authorities to expedite the voluntary, safe and dignified

return of all persons displaced by the conflict since 2011, in accordance with applicable

law;

18. Strongly condemns violence against all persons based on their religious or

ethnic affiliation, and calls upon all parties fully to respect international law;

19. Recognizes the security, political and economic challenges faced by the

Government of Libya, which have been exacerbated by armed conflict;

20. Urges the Government of Libya, the international community, the United

Nations and all parties to the conflict to facilitate the full, equal and effective participation

of women in activities relating to the prevention and resolution of the armed conflict, the

maintenance of peace and security and post-conflict peacebuilding, in line with relevant

Security Council resolutions, including resolutions 1325 (2000) and 2122 (2013);

21. Urges the Libyan Constitutional Assembly to intensify its efforts to complete

a draft constitution that protects the human rights of all, including women and members of

all communities and people living under vulnerable conditions, and to ensure the

participation of all members of society, including civil society organizations, as far as

possible, in the process of drafting the constitution;

22. Emphasizes the importance of ensuring a peaceful, inclusive and sustainable

democratic transition through a broad-based and inclusive national dialogue, and that, in the

context of an inclusive and credible dialogue, the Libyan people should determine the

appropriate process and mechanisms for achieving justice, reconciliation, truth and

accountability for gross violations and abuses committed since 2011 and under the former

regime, and reparations and effective remedies for victims;

23. Recognizes the ongoing human rights challenges in Libya and strongly

encourages the Government of Libya to increase its efforts to protect and promote human

rights and prevent any violations or abuses, and in this regard calls upon the international

community to provide assistance for Libyan efforts to establish the rule of law, due process

and access to justice, including through capacity-building in the justice system to enable

effective accountability;

24. Also recognizes the efforts made by States in tracing, freezing and recovering

stolen assets and the importance of effective cooperation between the international

community and the Libyan authorities in this regard, taking into account the potential

contribution of these assets to improving security, development and the protection of

human rights in Libya;

25. Welcomes the successful completion by Libya of, and its constructive

engagement with, the universal periodic review in its two first cycles, and looks forward to

the implementation of the accepted recommendations;

26. Also welcomes the open invitation that the Government of Libya has

extended to all special procedures and looks forward to the visits of mandate holders to the

country;

27. Further welcomes the commitment of the Government of Libya to human

rights and its continued cooperation with the Human Rights Council and its mechanisms,

including the wish expressed by the Government to continue its cooperation with the

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and to renew its invitation for him

to visit Libya, and urges the Government:

(a) To intensify efforts to prevent acts of torture, to investigate all allegations of

torture, to hold those responsible to account, and to consider providing fair and adequate

compensation for victims;

(b) To take immediate steps to protect freedom of expression, ensuring that the

media can operate freely and without discrimination, to review the provisions of the Penal

Code and other provisions that violate freedom of expression, and to abolish all Penal Code

restrictions on free speech that stipulate imprisonment and the death penalty for “insults” to

officials, the judiciary and the State for “slander” and for blasphemy;

(c) To make further progress towards the ratification of the International

Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and the

Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or

Degrading Treatment or Punishment;

(d) To promote the continued operation of the National Council for Civil

Liberties and Human Rights, in conformity with the principles relating to the status of

national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (Paris Principles);

(e) To empower women and girls further, including by ensuring their full

representation in politics, the police and the judiciary;

(f) To ensure the protection of cultural rights and freedom of religion and belief,

in accordance with its international obligations;

(g) To take appropriate steps to help to prevent all attacks on and destruction of

cultural and religious sites in violation of international law, particularly sites on the World

Cultural and Natural Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and

Cultural Organization, and to prosecute those responsible for such attacks;

(h) To take further steps to guarantee freedom of association and peaceful

assembly, including by reviewing the articles of the Penal Code that undermine freedom of

association and by adopting a law for civil society organizations that is in accordance with

international standards on freedom of association, that ensures the protection of human

rights defenders and that includes only legal limitations that comply with the international

treaty obligations of Libya;

28. Takes note of the final report of the International Commission of Inquiry on

Libya,1 and encourages the Government of Libya to implement fully the recommendations

contained therein;

29. Underlines the importance of, and the commitment of the Government of

Libya to, continued human rights monitoring, assessment and evaluation in order to

determine effective human rights technical assistance and capacity-building measures;

30. Takes note with appreciation in this regard of the report of the Office of the

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the investigation by the Office on

Libya presented to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-first session on violations and

abuses of international human rights law that have been committed in Libya since the

beginning of 2014,2 which reported the facts and circumstances of such abuses and

violations, with a view to avoiding impunity and ensuring full accountability;

31. Urges the Government of Libya to implement the recommendations

addressed to it in the above-mentioned report, in particular those relating to the justice

sector, transitional justice and criminal justice accountability measures;

32. Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to continue its close

engagement with the United Nations Support Mission in Libya in order to provide

coordinated human rights technical assistance to the Government of Libya;

33. Requests the High Commissioner to present an oral update to the Council at

its thirty-third session during an interactive dialogue, with the participation of the Special

Representative of the Secretary-General For Libya, on the situation of human rights in

Libya, including steps taken by the Government of Libya towards ensuring accountability

for human rights violations and abuses, in line with the present resolution, and the

contribution and effectiveness of technical assistance to this end;

34. Also requests the High Commissioner to present a written report to the

Council at its thirty-fourth session during an interactive dialogue on the situation of human

rights in Libya, including on the effectiveness of technical assistance and capacity-building

measures received by the Government of Libya, and an assessment of further technical

support or assistance needed to implement the present resolution and the recommendations

contained in the report of the Office of the High Commissioner on the investigation by the

Office on Libya to address the situation of human rights in Libya;2

1 A/HRC/19/68.

2 A/HRC/31/47.

35. Urges the international community to support the Government of Libya in

promoting and protecting the human rights of the Libyan people.

64th meeting

24 March 2016

[Adopted without a vote.]