Politics UN: Serious human rights violations in Libya

The United Nations has documented numerous human rights violations in the Libyan city of Tarhuna.

According to a report by the UN Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and the UN Human Rights Office in Geneva, members of the Kanijat militia killed, disappeared, sexually abused, kidnapped, tortured and mistreated people in Tarhuna, around 90 kilometers southeast of the capital Tripoli, between 2013 and 2022.

If those responsible are not brought to justice, this will contribute to further instability in the country, warned the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk. The report recommends investigations and prosecution of the perpetrators as well as a reconciliation process for society. The International Criminal Court is already investigating. Documentations such as this report are important documents for the prosecution to provide evidence against suspects.

Civil war after the fall of Gaddafi

Civil war raged in Libya after the fall of long-term ruler Muammar al-Gaddafi in 2011. Fighting for supremacy between government troops and militias ended in 2020, but the conflict is only frozen. The country remains divided between two competing governments and the spheres of influence of rival militias, as the Federal Agency for Civic Education writes in a recent analysis.

The internationally recognized government rules in the northwest and is secured by Turkish military bases, according to the analysis. General Khalifa Haftar of the Libyan National Army (LNA) and his sons control the east, center and south of the country and are supported by Russia. Tarhuna was long an important stronghold of General Haftar, which was heavily fought over.