Briefing Security Council, Chief Prosecutor Urges Member States’ Cooperation in Executing Arrest Warrants against Those Suspected of War Crimes in Libyan Town
International Criminal Court Must Complement, Not Substitute Work of Libyan Judiciary, Delegate Stresses
In his bi-annual briefing today to the Security Council on the situation in Libya, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) urged Member States’ cooperation in executing arrest warrants against those suspected of war crimes committed in the town of Tarhuna, spotlighting the recent unsealing of arrest warrants for individuals linked to the Al Kaniyat militia, and Libyan authorities’ collaboration to pursue accountability.
Prosecutor Karim Khan, speaking via videoconference from Tripoli while on his second visit to Libya, recalled his meeting this morning with the families of victims from Tarhuna who gave accounts of “calculated cruelty”, as well as his visit to “mass grave sites where they were dumped” after being tortured and killed.
“Every household in Tarhuna has a victim,” he recalled them saying, adding that information collected by his office indicates that victims had been subjected to crimes amounting to war crimes under the Rome Statute, including murder, outrages upon personal dignity, cruel treatment, torture, sexual violence and rape.
Citing his 4 October report, he said Pre-Trial Chamber I judges unsealed arrest warrants for six individuals, from the Al Kaniyat armed group, responsible for those crimes. “We know where they are,” he declared, urging States’ assistance to ensure that the judicial orders of the International Criminal Court are executed, and those individuals can be arrested and take part in trials where families can give evidence and speak to the violations they have endured.
Pointing to a “new paradigm shift” in discernible progress, he said his Office is “moving at speed” across key lines of inquiry and it is expected that further applications for arrest warrants will be presented during the next reporting period. His Office is also expanding its collaboration with national authorities to pursue accountability for crimes against migrants in Libya. Further, it remains on track in the implementation of the road map he had set out in his May briefing, and through which it intends to complete investigations by the end of 2025.
Spotlighting the deepening partnership between his Office and Libyan authorities, including his positive engagement with the President and the Prime Minister, he said that a new mechanism, as announced by the Attorney General of Libya with whom he met on 18 November for the first time, will be established to support coordination of action between his Office and the Office of the Attorney General across the fields of investigations, prosecutions and complementarity.
The trials in the Hague are a product of partnership; they should be seen as a common endeavour, he said, which demonstrates Libya’s real efforts to work with its people and his Office. Noting intensified collaboration also with Libyan civil society, he said the Libya Unified Team has met with over 70 civil society organizations and human rights defenders to discuss their work and expectations and has put forward a new mechanism to engage with civil society organizations quarterly.
“The hopes, the expectations, the steely determination of victims need to be at the forefront of our minds,” he underscored, notwithstanding “the political difficulties, technical challenges, trust issues that bedevil so many layers of Libyan society and the relationship with international organizations, like the ICC”.
Pointing to a new phase wherein authorities are “willing to extend a hand”, he urged continued solidarity, collaboration and communication, to allow for more space for justice and accountability and, in turn, peace and reconciliation, thus vindicating the Council’s 2011 decision to refer the Libya situation to his Office.
In the ensuing debate, Council members welcomed progress in the investigations of crimes linked to military operations conducted between 2014 and 2020, but were divided, however, in expressing support for the Court’s work on Libya, with some commending it.
The representative of the United Kingdom, Council President for November, speaking in his national capacity, said the October unsealing of six arrest warrants is “both a promising indicator of the progress made and a key step in providing justice for the victims of alleged war crimes in Tarhuna”. He expressed concern, however, over the ability of the authorities to progress investigations in Libya given broader security concerns and welcomed the plans to open a liaison office. The representative of Japan, Chair of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1970 (2011) concerning Libya, and the Court’s co-focal point at the Council, alongside Switzerland, over the past two years, noted that the Court’s enhanced presence through that office will improve the Libyan authorities’ capacity and deter further serious crimes.
Switzerland’s delegate was among several speakers, including Malta, who voiced strong support for the Court and commended the Office of the Prosecutor’s enhanced cooperation with Libyan authorities, as well as its deepened engagement with civil society organizations. She also welcomed the establishment of a structured engagement mechanism but expressed concern over the shrinking civic space in Libyan society, not only for civil society organizations but also for millions of women and girls, who play a key role in the fight against impunity.
Joining speakers who cautioned against threats or pressure on the Court and its officials was Slovenia’s representative who urged the Council to ensure that the Court is able to carry out its mandate independently, impartially, void of any external pressure as “threats or sanctions against judicial institutions or against its officials are unacceptable”. Moreover, as “the number of conflicts around the world has reached unprecedented levels”, the Council should use its power to refer more situations to the Court.
The Republic of Korea’s delegate, echoing other speakers, said the current focus must be to ensure that the warrants unsealed in October concerning the Tarhuna crimes lead to arrests. He urged the Libyan authorities and other relevant countries to actively cooperate in this regard.
The delegate of the United States commended Tripoli’s cooperation in global accountability efforts, including with States investigating crimes in Libya, and called for such cooperation to be strengthened to ensure that those with outstanding warrants, including former senior officials of the [Muammar] Qadhafi regime, face justice.
Guyana’s representative was among a few speakers who drew attention to the plight of migrants, and voiced concern over reports of continued crimes against them, including accounts of children in warehouses and detention centres. In that context, she welcomed the Office’s advancements in investigating such crimes, commending the extensive engagement with third States and international and regional organizations to this end.
Several delegates, including Ecuador’s representative, underscored the need to provide the Office of the Prosecutor with sufficient financial support. Sierra Leone’s delegate welcomed the Court’s request for additional resources from its Assembly of States Parties [the Court’s management oversight and legislative body] to address the unprecedented intensity of its investigative activities. The secondment of national experts has proven to be significantly beneficial, he added, welcoming further contributions of expertise to enhance the Office’s efforts in Libya.
Still, other delegations voiced scepticism about the Court’s work on Libya, with the Russian Federation’s delegate also taking aim at the Prosecutor himself. With Libya not party to the Rome Statute and the Security Council having not referred any new developments in that country to the Court, attempts by “this pseudo-court” — which has not only ignored Council documents and international law — to expand its own jurisdiction are baseless, she said. It is therefore only proper that the files on Libya and Darfur are withdrawn from the Court. His reports are not independent and are “designed to obscure the real state of affairs”, she said, adding that the current investigation over his alleged sexual harassment of an employee makes his briefing disrespectful to the Council and the Organization.
Algeria’s delegate said the Court must complement and not substitute the work of the Libyan Judiciary, and “its verdicts must emerge from meticulous analysis of evidence, not dictated by political pressures or agenda”. Turning to the situation in Gaza, he further called on the Court to urgently issue arrest warrants for war criminals in concerned countries in the Middle East as addressing these violations “will be a defining metric of its credibility”.
China’s delegate also stressed the need for the Office’s impartiality and objectivity, and for its work to remain free of political interference. Moreover, its jurisdiction should not be indefinite, he said, calling for Libya’s judicial capacity and authority to be bolstered to enable it to fight impunity and ensure justice on its own. He also called on the international community to support Libyan parties to restart dialogue, thereby bringing the 13-year impasse in the political process to an end. Similarly, Mozambique’s delegate urged a political solution to overcome the prolonged stalemate, including an inclusive agreement on electoral laws between Libya’s divided governments and the holding of national elections for stability and prosperity in the country.
The representative of Libya welcomed the efforts of Mr. Khan and his Office. He voiced hope that this will accelerate the investigative phase for the completion of all files pertaining to Libya, which must not remain open without end, noting that to date, 28 briefings have been held over the last 13 years. Achieving justice in Libyan territory is a sovereign prerogative, he underscored. The Libyan judiciary is committed to guaranteeing a fair and honest trial to all suspects regardless of how long it takes. The crimes committed are not subject to the statute of limitations according to the Libyan penal code. Libya’s cooperation with the International Criminal Court is in line with the complementarity principle, he said, further detailing Libya’s judicial capacity to investigate crimes committed within its borders and transnationally.
He welcomed the issuance of arrest warrants against six suspects outside Libya and called on the Prosecutor and his Office to “generalize” those arrest warrants and request the States sheltering the suspects to deliver them. To support transitional justice and national reconciliation, he urged an end to all negative interferences in Libyan affairs and support for a comprehensive political process. This would allow for the building of strong national institutions and the establishment of justice and the rule of law. Aligning with Algeria’s statement earlier in the meeting, he reminded the Court of its responsibility towards victims of genocide perpetrated in Gaza.
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