from AHMED ZAYED in Tripoli, Libya
Libya Bureau
TRIPOLI, (CAJ News) – CONTINUED lack of accountability and years of impunity enjoyed by perpetrators of human rights violations in the town of Tarhuna risks fuelling further instability and creating greater division in Libya, a United Nations (UN) report has warned.
Between 2013 and 2022, Al-Kaniyat, an armed militia that emerged in 2011, exercised brutal control over the town of some 150 000 inhabitants, located 90 km southeast of Tripoli.
A report by the UN details killings, disappearances, sexual violence, abductions, torture, ill-treatment, forced displacement and other serious violations and abuses of human rights, as well as serious violations of international humanitarian law.
There was subsequent discovery of mass graves containing hundreds of bodies, most of them handcuffed, blindfolded and bearing signs of torture. There is a possible existence of 100 other such sites, according to the UN.
“Years have passed since these horrific violations were committed, yet those responsible have not been brought to justice, nor have victims and their families been provided with truth, justice or reparation,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, in the report.
The lack of justice has led to a resurgence of violence and in some cases rape, which has fuelled further grievances in Tarhuna and its surrounding areas.
There are fears that failing to address the causes and drivers of conflict in Tarhuna would further fuel cycles of inter-communal violence and revenge.
The report recommends establishing a process of transitional justice and reconciliation as well as reparations for victims.
In November 2022, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced that further requests for arrest warrants were being submitted in connection with the situation in Libya.
Libya has been unstable since its former leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011.
– CAJ News