Libya
Libya
Years after the deposition of dictator Moammar Gadhafi as part of the Arab Spring, Libya remains in a deteriorating security situation that is especially volatile for women. Sexual and gender-based violence during the war, including mass rape, has yet to be investigated, and women’s rights have continued to decline as different Islamic groups strive to curtail freedoms throughout the country. Violence against women remains common, but reporting remains low; like political and civic participation, reporting and activism by women remains deterred due to threats of violence or death.
Since 2011, Libya has passed new laws which discriminate against women, including the legalization of polygamy and quota reductions for women’s representation in Parliament. Although a party to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Libya does not have a National Action Plan per resolution 1325 (2000).
Due to the high rates of discrimination, exclusion and violence faced by women in Libya, the NGOWG advocates for the Security Council to continue supporting the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) to include women as full and equal partners in supporting the transition of power to the Government of National Accord, which has struggled to establish legitimacy and control. Without the inclusion of women, the new government will face greater challenges to creating sustainable peace in Libya and continue exposing Libyan women to extreme risk of violence.
Current and Past Recommendations to the UN Security Council (Monthly Action Points)
Libya (June 2016)
With the deteriorating security situation and the threat posed by armed groups and illicit arms proliferation, active female public figures, including human rights defenders, civil society leaders, activists, journalists and politicians, continue to be targets of in assassinations, abductions, and crimes of sexual violence. The Security Council is expected to renew the mandate of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). The Council should call for gender to be considered a cross-cutting issue across the work of the mission (SCR 2122 (2013), OP 4) and reverse the removal of all gender-specific provisions which occurred in response to the crisis which resulted in the mission’s withdrawal to Tunisia. The Could should, further, include provisions which:
- Promote the full and effective participation of women in all peace, security and political processes including through the establishment of a consultative mechanism with civil society groups in all activities relating to the democratic transition, conflict resolution and peacebuilding, in line with SCR 1325 (2000) and all subsequent women, peace and security (WPS) resolutions;
- Recognize women’s unique protection needs, including with regards to cases of trafficking, torture, and detainment, as well as considerations relevant to women’s role in disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) and security sector reform (SSR) processes;
- Call for an end to impunity for violence against women, investigate and monitor human rights abuses, including sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), and deploy women’s protection advisers, gender advisers and other gender expertise in the mission;
- Support women’s leadership and participation in all combating, reducing and preventing violent extremism; and
- Request the Secretary-General to report to the Security Council on the gender dynamics of the situation in Libya, including in the political, security and humanitarian sectors, and provide sex and age disaggregated data whenever possible.
With the deteriorating security situation and the threat posed by armed groups and illicit arms proliferation, active female public figures, including human rights defenders, civil society leaders, activists, journalists and politicians, continue to be targets of in assassinations, abductions, and crimes of sexual violence. The Security Council is expected to renew the mandate of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). The Council should call for gender to be considered a cross-cutting issue across the work of the mission (SCR 2122 (2013), OP 4) and reverse the removal of all gender-specific provisions which occurred in response to the crisis which resulted in the mission’s withdrawal to Tunisia. The Could should, further, include provisions which:
- Promote the full and effective participation of women in all peace, security and political processes including through the establishment of a consultative mechanism with civil society groups in all activities relating to the democratic transition, conflict resolution and peacebuilding, in line with SCR 1325 (2000) and all subsequent women, peace and security (WPS) resolutions;
- Recognize women’s unique protection needs, including with regards to cases of trafficking, torture, and detainment, as well as considerations relevant to women’s role in disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) and security sector reform (SSR) processes;
- Call for an end to impunity for violence against women, investigate and monitor human rights abuses, including sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), and deploy women’s protection advisers, gender advisers and other gender expertise in the mission;
- Support women’s leadership and participation in all combating, reducing and preventing violent extremism; and
- Request the Secretary-General to report to the Security Council on the gender dynamics of the situation in Libya, including in the political, security and humanitarian sectors, and provide sex and age disaggregated data whenever possible.
Relevant Resources
