Libya: UNSMIL welcomes appointment of Fact-Finding Mission chaired by Moroccan Mohamed Auajjar

The UNSMIL has welcomed the appointment by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet of the three-member independent Fact-Finding Mission on Libya (FFML).

The FFML will be chaired by Moroccan former Minister of Justice Mohamed Auajjar and includes Tracy Robinson of Jamaica and Chaloka Beyani of Zambia and the UK.

“This appointment comes at a time when Libyans are in dire need of justice & accountability. UNSMIL reiterates its strong support for a full & impartial investigation into alleged abuses & violations of international humanitarian and human rights law since the start of 2016,” the UNSMIL said in a statement.

UNSMIL calls upon relevant Libyan authorities to cooperate fully with the Fact-Finding Mission on Libya as a critical step towards ending impunity and preventing further human rights violations and abuses in Libya, it added.

Michelle Bachelet, announcing the setting up of the FFML last Wednesday, said that the deteriorating security situation in Libya and the absence of a functioning judicial system underscored the importance of the work of a team of independent experts to document human rights violations and abuses.

The establishment of the FFML was decided by the Human Rights Council on 22 June 2020, inter alia, to document alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law and international humanitarian law by all parties in Libya since the start of 2016.

“This body of experts will serve as an essential mechanism to effectively address the widespread impunity for human rights violations and abuses committed, and can also serve as a deterrent to prevent further violations and contribute to peace and stability in the country,” said Bachelet.

Summary executions and other unlawful killings, torture and ill-treatment, gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence, abductions, enforced disappearances, as well as incitement to violence on social media, continue to be committed in a climate of complete impunity, Bachelet added.

The Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Libya will provide an oral update at the Human Rights Council in September 2020. A comprehensive written report on the situation of human rights in Libya, including on efforts to prevent and ensure accountability for violations and abuses of human rights with recommendations, will follow in 2021.