The United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution requesting the dispatch of an investigation mission to Libya, to document the abuses committed in this country since 2016 by various parties to the ongoing conflict.
The UN resolution requests the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michel Bachelet, to "establish an investigation mission and send it to Libya," and will instruct experts in this committee for a year "to document allegations of violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, and violations of these rights, committed by all parties in Libya." Since the beginning of 2016 ".
The UN resolution requires experts to present an oral report on their work at the upcoming 45th session of the Human Rights Council next September, followed by a full report at the next session scheduled for next March.
The draft resolution was presented by a group of African countries last March within the framework of the 43rd session of the Human Rights Council, but it was unable to discuss it due to the new Corona virus, which forced the United Nations to suspend the session.
This decision was adopted without a vote after the resumption of Human Rights Council discussions last week, after relaxing the restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the Corona pandemic.
The resolution strongly condemns all acts of violence committed in Libya, and expresses its concern about information that talks about torture and other abuses inside Libyan prisons.
For its part, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, expressed her deep concern at reports that several mass graves were found in Tarhuna, considering that this could constitute evidence of war crimes or crimes against humanity committed there.
In a statement from The Hague - the seat of the International Criminal Court - Bensouda confirmed that the court has received reliable information that 11 mass graves contain the remains of men, women and children.
Bensouda also warned that she would not hesitate to expand her investigations and possible prosecutions to include new crimes after finding the cemeteries mentioned.
She also commended the UN Human Rights Council’s decision Monday to send an investigation mission to Libya tasked with documenting the abuses committed in this country since 2016.
Bensouda expressed grave concern over the noticeable increase in the quantity and quality of military equipment recently deployed in the country on the one hand, and the serious escalation of violence and the large number of civilian casualties on the other hand.
It is noteworthy that Libya has witnessed a political and military conflict and a struggle for power and legitimacy since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011.