Amnesty Presents Human Rights Agenda For Change To New Libyan Regime

(RTTNews) - A day after publishing a report accusing Libyan rebels of committing war crimes during the seven-month conflict, Amnesty International presented on Tuesday a Human Rights Agenda for Change to the new Libyan authorities.

In what it terms as "a contribution to the program of human rights reform in Libya," Amnesty called on the transitional authorities to reform the security and law enforcement sector and the criminal justice system, end arbitrary and incommunicado detention, put and end to torture and other ill-treatment, respect and protect freedoms of expression, association and assembly, and uphold the rights of refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants.

The London-based human rights watchdog also urged the new regime to set up effective independent mechanisms to find out human rights violations committed since September 1969, when ousted leader Moammer Qadhafi first assumed power in the North African country.

It also demanded amendments to national legislation to include crimes under international law, including genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, enforced disappearances, extra-judicial executions and torture.

It wants investigation into all crimes under international law and other serious human rights violations, including gender-based violence, committed in Libya, and prosecution of suspected perpetrators where there is sufficient admissible evidence.

Amnesty called on the rebel administration to ensure that all victims of human rights violations are provided full and effective reparation to address their suffering and help them to rebuild their lives - particularly, they should be able to seek reparation before national courts.

Other recommendations in the Human Rights Agenda include:

Take effective measures to combat racism, xenophobia and discrimination, in particular against dark-skinned individuals, including by celebrating the diverse ethnic make-up of the Libyan population and the positive contribution of migrants, including from Sub-Saharan Africa, to Libyan society, economy and development;

Implement the February 2009 recommendation of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, which calls on the Libyan authorities to take all appropriate measures to increase women's representation in the executive and legislative branches of government and their political representation;

Adopt best practices identified by the U.N. Office of Disarmament Affairs to control weapons and munitions, and ratify the international conventions to prohibit the transfer and use of inhumane weapons including anti-personnel mines and cluster munitions;

Co-operate fully with the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigations and with the Commission of Inquiry to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya established by the U.N. Human Rights Council;

Immediately declare an official moratorium on executions, in line with the U.N. General Assembly resolutions, calling for a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty.

In a major report released on Monday on human rights violations during the Libyan conflict, Amnesty said the National Transitional Council (NTC) must get a grip on armed anti-Qadhafi groups to stop reprisal attacks and arbitrary arrests.

The 107-page report 'The Battle for Libya: Killings, Disappearances and Torture' reveals that while Qadhafi forces committed widespread crimes under international law during the conflict, forces loyal to the NTC have also committed abuses that in some cases amounted to war crimes.

by RTT Staff Writer

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(2011-9-13/RTTNews)