The US Department of State released its Human Rights Report on Libya for the year 2021, which highlighted several human rights problems based on reliable reports.
Those reports included reports of arbitrary killings at the hands of various armed groups, in addition to enforced disappearances by various armed formations, torture practiced by armed groups from all sides, harsh and life-threatening conditions in prisons and detention facilities, serious problems related to the independence of the judiciary, and the killing of civilians, recruitment or use of children in conflict, serious restrictions on freedom of expression and the media, including violence against journalists, substantive interference with freedom of association, and refoulment of refugees and asylum-seekers.
The report stated that violations were committed by government-backed parties and formations, amid the judiciary’s inability to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of these violations, in addition to the involvement of external formations, most notably the Wagner Group, in recruiting, training and sending special military agents to fuel violence, looting natural resources and intimidating civilians in violation of international law, including international human rights law.
The report also notes that dozens of civil society activists, politicians, judges and journalists have been forcibly disappeared by the security services or armed groups in western and eastern Libya and have been detained for making comments or following activities that are perceived to be disloyal to the ruling authorities.
It noted that the unity government funded armed formations; With the aim of extending its control over a number of areas and staying in power.
It also stated that reliable sources indicated that officials who run government prisons and detention centers outside the law tortured detainees at a time when the judicial police were controlling some facilities, and the National Unity Government relied on armed formations to manage prisons and detention centers.
An unknown number of individuals were held without judicial authorization in other facilities nominally under the control of the Ministry of Interior or the Ministry of Defense, or in extra-legal facilities controlled by armed formations affiliated with the Government of National Unity or the military, amid reports of cruel and degrading treatment in government facilities, including beating, electric shocks, burning and rape. This torture was reported in many cases for the purpose of blackmailing the families of detainees.
An unknown number of refugees and other migrants were also held in extrajudicial detention facilities, such as smugglers’ camps. Criminal and non-governmental armed groups controlling these facilities routinely torture and ill-treat detainees, subjecting them to arbitrary killing, rape, sexual violence, beatings, forced labor, and deprivation of food and water, according to dozens of shared testimonies.
The fact-finding mission also stated that it found credible indications that government agencies and members of armed formations also used sexual violence as a tool of coercion or humiliation to silence critics and those who appear to defy social norms.
For example, the fact-finding mission stated that it had received several reports of human rights activists being kidnapped and subjected to sexual violence to deter them from participating in public life.
Rape and violence crimes against female prisoners in the eastern region were also documented, in addition to a number of migrant women inside detention centers, while the United Nations Support Mission in Libya received numerous reports of women being subjected to forced prostitution in prisons or detention facilities in conditions that amount to sexual slavery.
The report indicated that the unity government arrested individuals and figures who pose a threat to its interests inside Tripoli’s Mitiga prison without any charges being brought against them, and some armed groups carried out illegal and arbitrary arrests without hindrance.
The low level of international monitoring contributed to the lack of reliable statistics on the number of arbitrary detention cases.
The report added that most of the detainees did not have the right to communicate with a lawyer, in addition to conducting military and civilian trials without meeting international standards, noting that a number of judges and prosecutors face threats, intimidation and violence, which threatens the independence of the judiciary, and the national unity government has not taken steps To systematically screen detainees for trial or release.
The report touched on the issue of child recruitment, as it monitored reports that an armed formation affiliated with the Government of National Unity in the West recruited a 15-year-old boy to fight for it as of 2019.
Although government policy required conscripts to be at least 18 years old; Non-state armed formations did not have official policies prohibiting this practice, and the Government of National Unity made no credible efforts to investigate or punish the recruitment, use or punishment of children, and Sudanese and Chadian mercenary groups in the south were reported to have recruited or used children.
On freedom of expression, the report said that armed formations had previously threatened or killed activists, and deepening the climate of fear by providing cover for armed groups to target public opponents with impunity.
International and local human rights organizations stated that human rights defenders and activists face constant threats of kidnapping, killing and intimidation, and many civil society organization staff have received threats, including death threats, because of their human rights activities, many of whom believe they were under Monitoring by intelligence services.
The report also noted the prevalence of government corruption in state facilities, where officials engaged, often with impunity, in corrupt practices such as graft, bribery and nepotism. There were numerous reports of government corruption, including cases of money laundering, people smuggling and other criminal activities.
The report concluded by referring to occupational health and safety standards that the government did not implement, as some industries, such as the oil sector, tried to maintain standards set by foreign companies. However, the government did not enforce labor protection laws and enforce these standards; This put dozens of them at risk without receiving any compensation, and without holding those responsible for putting them at risk.
