RES/34/38 Technical assistance and capacity-building to improve human rights in Libya

GE.17-05597(E)



Human Rights Council Thirty-fourth session

27 February–24 March 2017

Agenda item 10

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 24 March 2017

34/38. 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,

Reaffirming its previous resolutions on Libya,

Reiterating its support for the full implementation of the Libyan Political

Agreement, signed in Skhirat, Morocco on 17 December 2015, establishing a Presidency

Council to form a Government of National Accord consisting of the Presidency Council

and Cabinet supported by the other institutions of the State, including the House of

Representatives and the State Council,

Expressing deep concern at the continued human rights violations and abuses

committed in Libya, and at the fragile security situation and the acts of terrorism

perpetrated against the people in Libya, resulting in loss of life and mass displacement, and

their particular impact on women and children,

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

terrorism against migrants, and at the death of migrants attempting to cross the

Mediterranean Sea,

Expressing deep concern at the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Libya,

including the damage caused to hospitals, shortages of medicines and medical supplies, and

lack of treatment, and the disruption to public services and public utilities,

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

violations of international humanitarian law should be held accountable, and that counter-

terrorism measures should prioritize the protection of civilian populations and must be

consistent with applicable international law,

Expressing full support for the efforts led by the United Nations Support Mission in

Libya led by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya to ensure broad

Libyan support for the Libyan Political Agreement as a Libyan-led political solution to the

challenges facing Libya,

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

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

1. Welcomes the commitment of the Government of National Accord to

improve human rights in Libya, and its continued cooperation with the Human Rights

Council and its mechanisms;

2. Also welcomes the continued commitment of the Government of National

Accord to the universal periodic review process, and emphasizes the pressing need for

implementation of the recommendations accepted;

3. Further welcomes the creation of the Presidential Guard by the Presidency

Council with the task of securing the Presidency Council and public facilities, and supports

this initiative, which contributes to the stability of Libya;

4. Takes note with appreciation of the oral update delivered by the United

Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-

third session, with the participation of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General

for Libya, on the situation of human rights in Libya, including the steps taken by the

Government of National Accord towards ensuring accountability for human rights

violations and abuses, in accordance with Council resolution 31/27;

5. Also takes note with appreciation of the report of the High Commissioner 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;1

6. Strongly condemns all acts of violence in Libya, and all violations and abuses

of humans rights and violations of international humanitarian law that are being committed,

in particular against civilians, including women and children, as well as those involving

indiscriminate shelling, including of hospitals, abductions, enforced disappearances, torture

and unlawful killings, including of government officials and judges;

7. Condemns all attacks, intimidation, harassment and violence against

journalists, media workers, members of civil society and human rights defenders, especially

given their role in documenting protests and human rights violations and abuses, and

restrictions on freedom of expression;

8. Repeats its call to all parties to comply immediately with their applicable

obligations under human rights and international humanitarian law and for strict respect of

all human rights and fundamental freedoms, and urges all leaders to declare that violations

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

responsible for such acts will be removed from duty;

9. Recognizes the ongoing human rights challenges in Libya, and strongly

encourages the Government of National Accord to increase its efforts to protect and

1 A/HRC/34/42.

promote human rights and to prevent any violations or abuses, and in this regard

encourages its continued engagement with the United Nations Support Mission in Libya

and the Office of the High Commissioner;

10. 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;

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

rights law and violations of international humanitarian law to be held accountable, in

accordance with international standards;

12. Calls upon the Government of National Accord to appoint a focal point on

justice and human rights;

13. Also calls upon the Government of National Accord to increase efforts to end

impunity, and notes its cooperation with the International Criminal Court to ensure that

those responsible for violations or abuses of human rights or violations of international

humanitarian law, including attacks targeting civilians, are held accountable;

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

incommunicado detention, abuse and killings carried out by armed groups, most notably the

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

terrorist organizations in Libya listed by the United Nations, and underlines that murder,

torture and 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;

15. Calls upon all Libyans to unite under civilian command, including to combat

terrorism in the country, and urges all Member States to cooperate actively in this regard

with the Government of National Accord and to provide support as requested while

ensuring the full respect for human rights in efforts to combat terrorism;

16. Expresses grave concern at the number of detainees, including conflict-

related detainees and children, and at reports of torture, sexual and gender-based violence

and harsh conditions 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;

17. Also expresses serious concern at the acute humanitarian situation in Libya,

condemns in the strongest terms obstructions to the delivery of humanitarian aid, and calls

for full, immediate and unfettered humanitarian access for United Nations humanitarian

agencies across Libya, 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;

18. Calls upon the international community to provide financial support for the

United Nations humanitarian response plan for Libya for the period 2017-2018 to address

the needs of 1,330,000 people;

19. 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;

20. Encourages the Government of National Accord to promote, protect and

respect the human rights of migrants, refugees and internally displaced persons, to hold

human traffickers accountable and to provide a framework for the enhanced engagement of

the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and to continue to

cooperate with the International Organization for Migration;

21. Urges the Government of National Accord, 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

accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions, including resolutions 1325 (2000) of

31 October 2000 and 2122 (2013) of 18 October 2013, and welcomes in this regard the

decision of the Presidency Council to establish a women’s support and empowerment unit,

consistent with the Libyan Political Agreement;

22. Urges the Constitutional Drafting Assembly to resume its efforts to complete

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

all communities and people living in 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;

23. Welcomes the commitment of the Government of National Accord to human

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

including the wish expressed by the President of the Presidency Council in his speech

addressed to the Council at its thirty-fourth session to continue cooperation with the Office

of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and to renew the invitation

for the High Commissioner 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 provide 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 freedom of expression that stipulate imprisonment and the death penalty for

“insults” to officials, the judiciary or the State;

(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 further empower women and girls, 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

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

to hold accountable those responsible for such attacks and destruction;

(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

the international obligations of Libya with regard to freedom of association, that ensures the

full protection of human rights defenders and that includes only legal limitations that

comply with the international treaty obligations of Libya;

24. Urges the Government of National Accord, working with all relevant parties,

to implement the recommendations addressed to it by the High Commissioner in his report

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

international human rights law committed in Libya since the beginning of 2014, in

particular those relating to the justice sector, transitional justice and criminal justice

accountability measures;2

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

National Accord to, continued human rights monitoring, assessment and evaluation in order

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

26. Requests the Office of the High Commissioner, while continuing its

engagement with the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, to monitor and report on

human rights violations and abuses across Libya, and to establish the facts and

circumstances of such abuses and violations with a view to avoiding impunity and ensuring

full individual accountability;

27. Welcomes the standing invitation that Libya has extended to all special

procedures, and requests the High Commissioner to coordinate with mandate holders

relevant to the present resolution to undertake visits to Libya and to be provided with all the

resources necessary to support the visits throughout 2017, in support of his work and that of

the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, and in particular to assist efforts to ensure

individual accountability and to prevent further human rights abuses and violations, and to

make recommendations to improve the situation of human rights through targeted technical

assistance, with a view to help the State to fulfil its human rights obligations and

commitments and to support reconciliation;

28. Invites the Office of the High Commissioner to work closely with all entities

of the United Nations, the African Union, the League of Arab States, the Organization of

Islamic Cooperation and all other international organizations concerned;

29. Requests the High Commissioner to present an oral update to the Human

Rights Council at its thirty-sixth session during an interactive dialogue, with the

participation of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya, and to

present a written report during an interactive dialogue with the Council at its thirty-seventh

session;

30. Decides to remain seized of the matter.

59th meeting

24 March 2017

[Adopted without a vote.]

2 A/HRC/31/47.