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 (May 2020)
Despite calls for a ceasefire in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, violence and attacks against civilians have increased in recent weeks, including targeting of civilians who are under curfew (ICRC, ACLED). The resulting violence has displaced thousands of Libyans, forcing them to flee further into Tripoli, putting stress on resources and increasing the risk of spreading COVID-19 (IOM). Further, recent attacks against hospitals (OCHA) and health care workers as well as safe water sources are in violation of international humanitarian law (IHL). Such attacks undermine the country’s ability to respond to COVID-19 by cutting off more than 2 million residents to safe water and electricity (UNSMIL, OCHA, UN, NYT). In its discussion of the situation and the latest report of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Council members must demand an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, ensure all civilians and civilian objects are protected in accordance with IHL, and support actions to hold accountable those parties from all sides of the conflict that use violence to influence State institutions, commit serious human rights violations and exploit detainees in official and unofficial places of detention (HRW). The Council should call on the Government to refrain from enacting indefinite emergency measures that limit or entirely curtail the right to movement, assembly, and information, or impose undue restrictions on civic space or the work of civil society and human rights defenders, including women’s rights organizations, as part of pandemic response. Further, the Council should emphasize the importance of taking measures to prevent, address, and document incidences of intimate partner violence exacerbated by the pandemic due to government policies ordering quarantines, social distancing, curfews, and closure of non-essential services. Finally, the Government must take all necessary measures to prevent outbreaks in detention centers and prisons, including by releasing prisoners that have been arbitrarily detained, such as children, people detained without charge or trial, migrants held solely because of their status, political prisoners and human rights defenders, including women human rights defenders, and allowing unhindered access to humanitarian personnel and ensuring access to testing and medical care is available to anyone detained (HRW).
Relevant Resources
