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7806th Security Council Meeting: Situation in Libya
As Libya continued to be consumed by multiple conflicts, with innocent civilians bearing the brunt of the fighting, the Prosecutor’s Office of the International Criminal Court would seek to expand its efforts in the strife-filled country, the Chief Prosecutor told the Security Council today.
Briefing the 15-nation body, Fatou Bensouda said the Prosecutor’s Office would be aiming to significantly expand investigations in 2017 and bring charges for recent instances of alleged serious criminal activity falling under the Court’s jurisdiction.
Still, her Office could not accomplish its goals acting alone. As the Council had referred the situation in Libya to her Office, she had decided to allocate additional resources from within her budget to the Libya situation. Yet, without the Council’s support that allocation would come at the expense of investigations of other crimes. She appealed to the Council to support financial assistance by the United Nations for Libya investigations in 2017.
Because such expansion of work required a coordinated approach and joint efforts by all concerned, she highlighted that the Office’s investigative efforts had greatly benefited from the operational investigative support from the Libyan Prosecutor-General’s Office. Regional States, including Tunisia and Jordan, had also continued to cooperate, she said, urging all States that had not responded to requests for assistance to do so without delay.
Turning to the case of Saif Al-Islam Qadhafi, she said that from available information, Mr. Qadhafi remained in Zintan and was still outside the custody of the Presidency Council of the Government of National Accord. She called once again on the Libyan authorities to ensure they do everything possible to have Mr. Qadhafi transferred to the Court. As for the case of Abduallah Al-Senusishe, she said that no new facts had arisen, which negated the basis on which the Pre-Trial Chamber had found Mr. Al-Senussi’s case inadmissible before the Court.
Following Ms. Bensouda’s briefing, Council members took the floor to express continued support for the work of the Prosecutor’s Office in Libya as well as concern over ongoing suffering of civilians at the hand of Libyan factions, Islamic State in Iraq/the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) and other armed groups. Noting the difficulties of ensuring accountability for such abuses in the perilous security environment, some speakers called for consideration of new strategies to pursue investigations in that regard.
Most speakers called on the national authorities to cooperate with the International Criminal Court in its request to hand over Mr. Qadhafi and to deal with the cases of other figures from the previous regime. Many urged progress in the investigation of conditions of detention in the country, with some noting that an individual accused of torture had been re-instated in his prison position. Also stressed by members was the need for close cooperation in all areas between the Court and the Government of National Accord, as well as the need for support for the Court’s activities by other States, whether or not they were parties to the Rome Statute.
The representative of the Russian Federation, however, saw little purpose to the Court’s activities in Libya and voiced doubt as to the Court’s desire for serious dialogue with the Council, given that the Prosecutor’s report had been received only last night. Also regrettable was the Office continuing to remove itself from the issue of civilian deaths from the 2011 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) strikes. Given the withdrawal from the Rome Statute by several States, he said he doubted any new cases could be brought by the Court in Libya or elsewhere.
Other Council members, addressing the withdrawals from the Rome Statute, expressed full support to the Court’s role in ending impunity for atrocity crimes around the world. Senegal’s representative, Council President for November, spoke in his national capacity, calling for dialogue and cooperation between all States parties and the Court, particularly States parties in Africa. He also urged the Court to heed African concern and urged those considering withdrawal to work out problems in dialogue
The representative of Libya, addressing the Council, stressed that the Government of National Accord would continue to cooperate with the Prosecutor’s Office. He expressed hope that the security situation would improve so that communication between the Prosecutor’s Office and the Libyan Prosecutor-General’s Office could function at a level that allowed full pursuit of justice and the promotion of human rights in the country.
Also speaking today were representatives of the United Kingdom, France, Egypt, Spain, Japan, Angola, Malaysia, China, United States, New Zealand, Uruguay, Ukraine, and Venezuela.
The meeting began at 3:10 p.m. and adjourned at 4:45 p.m.
