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 (April 2023)
In its discussion of the situation in Libya and the latest report of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Council members must call for the protection and promotion of the full spectrum of women’s human rights and the full, equal and meaningful participation and leadership of diverse women, including young women, displaced women, Indigenous women and women with disabilities, in formal, substantive and specific roles at every level of the peace process and in provincial councils at the local level, including through adoption of a 30% quota. Council members should request updates and specific details regarding UNSMIL’s implementation of the women, peace and security agenda, including efforts to support the full, equal and meaningful inclusion and leadership of diverse women, including young women, in the design and implementation of all aspects of any peace processes, including the ongoing political processes and the ceasefire agreement monitoring. Council members must call upon the interim Government to integrate the recommendations by Libyan women who participated in the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF).
In line with its call for all parties to create a safe and enabling environment free from threats, violence, and harassment (S/RES/2656 (2022), PP), and in the context of efforts to undermine freedom of expression and association, including the Supreme Judicial Council’s March-issued legal opinion invalidating the legal establishment of untold numbers of civil society organizations in Libya, including women’s groups, preventing them from operating freely without fear of violence, the Council should not only draw attention to the risk women peacebuilders, human rights defenders, politicians, activists and civil society leaders face, but request that UNSMIL support inclusive and consultative protection mechanisms to enable diverse women to participate safely and meaningfully without fear of reprisal. Members of the Council are also encouraged to financially and politically support the establishment of a strong, independent follow-up accountability mechanism to continue documenting and reporting on the human rights and impunity crisis in Libya and monitoring the implementation of the Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Libya’s recommendations, separate from the day-to-day monitoring and reporting carried out by the human rights component of UNSMIL, so as not to detract from resources required for that work nor jeopardize UNSMIL’s access to the country, and in order to protect the strict independence of the follow-up accountability work as a step towards justice and accountability.
Relevant Resources
