Accountability and transitional justice

LFJL is currently working alongside other NGOs to prevent and eradicate enforced disappearances in Africa and to bring justice to victims of enforced disappearances.

In Libya, we aim to empower victims to speak about their own experiences and to highlight this issue with the national authorities and at the regional level with the African Union. We also seek to encourage the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to adopt comprehensive guidelines on enforced disappearances in Africa in order to prevent and eradicate the practice of enforced disappearances in the continent.

In 2018, we hosted the first International Criminal Moot Court Competition at the University of Libya, taking the law out of the books and into the courtroom. Through in-depth training, the project provides students with the opportunity to develop their knowledge of international humanitarian law and international criminal law and to enhance their legal drafting and presentation skills. The competition culminates in a final event where the best two teams for the Defence and for the Office of the Prosecutor present their arguments before an expert panel of judges. The final event is open to the public, creating new spaces for discussion on human rights, justice and law.

Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers travelling through Libya remain at high risk of severe human rights violations, including torture and ill treatment, sexual exploitation and slavery. #RoutesToJustice secures access to justice for these people using domestic courts, including through the principle of universal jurisdiction, regional human rights courts and mechanisms and international human rights mechanisms and tribunals. In combination with legal intervention, we facilitate initial medical and psychological rehabilitation for victims. LFJL  hopes that by creating a climate of accountability, traffickers and armed actors will be deterred from continuing to commit violations. Finally, strategic legal interventions provide a basis for political pressure to change migration policy, both domestically and regionally. 

Through our La Mubarir (“no justification” in Arabic) project, we aim to prevent future instances of torture in Libya, and to provide redress and rehabilitation to victims. Torture in Libya is endemic. Public opinion on its use is divided, with many holding the opinion that torture is justifiable in some circumstances, for example depending on the identity or affiliation of the victim. Due to the breakdown of the justice system, torture victims are unable to access legal redress at a national level. The Accountability Programme addresses these challenges through a range of activities. These include documenting cases of torture, working to obtain justice using the principle of universal jurisdiction and human rights mechanisms such as the United Nations Human Rights Committee and African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and strengthening the network of professionals working in the fight against torture in Libya.