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7698th Security Council Meeting: Situation in Libya
Qadhafi Falls under National Jurisdiction, Permanent Representative Insists.
Justice and the rule of law remained critical key elements for the return to stability in Libya, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, told the Security Council this morning as it addressed the situation in that country.
“Nations are not built overnight, but to last and to withstand the challenges of the twenty-first century, they must be built on strong foundations. Justice will always serve as a central pillar,” Fatou Bensouda told the 15-member body in her briefing.
Introducing her eleventh report to the Council pursuant to resolution 1970 (2011), she said that the last six months had witnessed “significant developments in Libya’s slow and difficult process towards the establishment of a unity Government”, following the December 2015 signing of the United Nations-brokered agreement.
With justice, accountability and the rule of law central to that effort, she encouraged the emerging Government of National Accord to give priority to devising effective plans and strategies to address atrocity crimes while investing in the necessary national institutions for such a critical endeavour.
Over the same period, she noted that investigations by her Office had progressed at a slower pace than desired due to a lack of sufficient resources and the adverse security situation. Despite such constraints, the Prosecutor’s Office was assessing the potential for expanding its investigations into the alleged crimes of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) and other terrorist groups. However, she underlined that Member States had the primary responsibility to investigate and prosecute nationals who had committed such crimes.
In regard to the case of Saif al-Islam Qadhafi, the son of the head of the former regime, she again called for his transfer to the International Criminal Court. As the Government had told the Court that Mr. Qadhafi was being held by a militia, her Office had filed a request with the pre-trial chamber for an order to transmit a request to the militia’s commander to render him to the Court.
Following Ms. Bensouda’s briefing, Council members took the floor to express appreciation for the work of her Office in Libya despite the security challenges, and to express concern over the continued suffering of civilians in the country due to inter-factional strife and the activities of ISIL and other groups. Some speakers expressed particular concern over the abuse of migrants at the hands of traffickers and other profiteers.
Most speakers welcomed progress in agreements towards the consolidation of the Government of National Accord and urged continued international assistance in that regard. Many called on the national authorities to cooperate with the International Criminal Court in the matter of Mr. Qadhafi and other figures from the previous regime responsible for grave crimes.
While many council members also agreed that justice and the rule of law were central to the restoration of stability in Libya, the representative of New Zealand, however, warned that the International Criminal Court could not be a panacea for Libya’s challenges. As a court of last resort, it was never intended to replace national justice systems.
As well, the representative of the Russian Federation questioned the relevance of a continuing dialogue on Libya between the Prosecutor’s Office and the Security Council, citing a lack of new cases being investigated in the past years and the dearth of new information in the Courts’ latest report, which, he said, seemed like the report of a monitoring mission.
After members’ statements, the representative of Libya reaffirmed his country’s full determination to work with the Court to end impunity for crimes covered by the Rome Statute, despite the challenges the legal authorities were still confronting. He stressed that security was required to re-establish the rule of law, which, in turn, meant that the Government must have the sole means of law enforcement, including munitions needed for the struggle against ISIL. In that regard, he welcomed international assistance in consolidating national unity and fighting terrorism.
In the case of Mr. Qadhafi, he emphasized that the Court had no right to deal with national individuals without working through the national Government. As the Government was not in control of relevant prisons, the matter could not currently be resolved.
Also speaking today were the representatives of China, Uruguay, Senegal, United States, Malaysia, United Kingdom, Angola, Ukraine, Spain, France, Venezuela, Japan and Egypt.
The meeting began 10:05 a.m. and ended at 11:44 a.m.
