Libya continues to suffer one of its most serious crises – Details
Militias affiliated with the outgoing government of Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh continue their crimes against Libyans and use excessive force against demonstrators.
Militias affiliated with the Dbeibeh government have committed a number of crimes in the capital, Tripoli, amidst the convictions of human rights organizations, attacking peaceful demonstrators and illegally detaining officials and activists.
The most recent incident involved local affairs officers in front of the Prime Minister’s office demanding the repeal of Decree No. 326, which stipulates the transfer of their dependency from the Ministry of the Interior to the Ministry of Local Government.
Call for handover
One protester said that “Resolution 326” harms more than 35,000 employees: They work in local affairs offices in Libya and are denied an increase in salaries that would include civil status workers.
He said that as soon as they gathered in front of the civil status department, a number of Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh’s militias attacked them. The demonstrators responded by chanting slogans calling for the overthrow of Dbeibeh and demanding that he hand over power to his successor, Fathi Bashagha.
Libya’s National Human Rights Commission condemned the attack on peaceful protesters in Tripoli.
Libya’s Attorney General called for a full investigation into the attacks in front of the Libyan cabinet headquarters.
The committee condemned physical and verbal abuse and the use of excessive force to disperse peaceful demonstrations, describing the incident as a crime that constitutes a serious violation of human rights and citizenship.
Restriction of freedoms
The Committee reaffirmed that the right to assembly, demonstration, peaceful protest and freedom of opinion and expression are fundamental rights of citizenship and human rights and are part of Libya’s obligations under international human rights law, as guaranteed by the Interim Constitutional Declaration and Act No. 65 of 2012 on the organization of the right to peaceful demonstration.
It stressed that the Libyan state has a duty to abide by legal tools and international standards in dealing with demonstrations.
Head of the Arab Organization for Human Rights in Libya Abdel Moneim El Horr said that attacking peaceful demonstrators violates the right to peaceful assembly and the right to freedom of expression guaranteed by international human rights conventions to which Libya is a party.
He added that the articles of the Constitutional Declaration regulate the right to peaceful protest, as well as the democratic foundations that the people demanded
“Such attacks continue to be carried out in the absence of accountability in the face of the perpetrators of these continuing violations against civilians”, he said.
