Libya: NPWJ raises awareness and promotes participation for the Transitional Justice law

 
NPWJ convened a colloquium about the recently approved TJ law on 16 January in Tripoli within its broader program on Transitional Justice (TJ) in Libya. This meeting formed part of the series of colloquiums that NPWJ has organised regularly since the launch of the Libya program, providing an occasion to generate constructive discussion within civil society and the legal community. The colloquium provided a platform for discussion and information-sharing between different sectors of the Libyan and international community. On this occasion, there were more than 30 participants, including local activists, journalists, students, representatives of the international community, who engaged in an open and vibrant discussion.
 
The session started with the presentation of the main elements of the law by Mr Abubaker Abukreis, member of The Right Direction Organization for Human Rights (RDOHR), one of NPWJ’s local partners in Libya. Additional considerations were added by Ms Anne Massagee, Senior Human Rights Officer at UNSMIL. When the floor was open for discussion, the participants expressed their point of view and expectations regarding the law and the establishment of the Fact Finding and Reconciliation Commission (the Commission), which will be in charge of collecting information on severe and systematic human rights violations. Despite not having been consulted in the preliminary discussion before the law was officially issued in December, the participants expressed their full endorsement, along with their willingness to support the law and contribute to its effectiveness.
 

 
The Commission will be responsible for a range of areas that represent some of the main challenges facing Libya today. These include the situation of the hundreds of internally displaced people who are suffering from poor life conditions and the provision of concrete support to victims of human rights abuses. For this to happen, participants stressed the importance of the Commission’s members being independent and high level figures who represent all regions and different sectors of Libyan society, with proper gender balance. The Commission should organise an outreach campaign to promote the law and the role of the Commission, for example by opening several branches of the Commission in all four corners of Libya. Encouraged by NPWJ, participants also agreed on the possibility to establish an observatory working group on the law, in order for civil society to observe its implementation and to offer their contributions to the achievement of the objectives envisaged in the law. At the conclusion of the colloquium, NPWJ and RDOHR invited participants to attend the next colloquium, which will take place on Tuesday 21 January at NPWJ’s Tripoli office and will focus on the role and capacities of Libyan tribes in solving conflict.  
 
NPWJ in Libya
NPWJ has been working on the Libyan transition since early 2011, in the framework of its project to support Libya’s democratic transition through justice and accountability. As the country embarks on legislative reforms, the Libyan authorities can break with the legacy of impunity and abuses that typified Gaddafi’s rule with a new respect for the rule of law and a commitment to restoring justice and dignity to victims. Doing so requires not only the investigation and prosecution of the crimes and violence perpetrated during the revolution, but also efforts to confront a history of oppression and human rights abuses that dates back decades under the rule of the former regime. 
 
 
For further information on the activities of NPWJ in Libya please contact Stefano Moschini, Libya Program Coordinator, at smoschini@npwj.org  or +218917450375.