United Nations Human Rights Council
60th Regular Session
Interactive Dialogue
Item 10
International Commission of Jurists Statement in the Interactive Dialogue on the OHCHR Report on technical cooperation in Libya
3 October 2025
Mr President,
Since HRC resolution 56/16’s adoption, 67 unidentified bodies were discovered in refrigerators at the Abu Salim and Al-Khadra hospitals. In May 2025, a leaked video showed Ibrahim Al-Dersi, a House of Representatives’ member who had been missing for a year, shackled and bearing signs consistent with torture. Also in May, over 10 civilians were killed as a result of hostilities escalating between different militias following one of their leaders’ extrajudicial execution. These events reflect patterns of systematic abuses committed with impunity across Libya, disproportionally affecting women, migrants, refugees, asylum-seekers and other minorities.
Moreover, the authorities continue to attack and harass civil society actors, preventing their work.
Notwithstanding Libya’s acceptance of the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction, it is yet to effectively cooperate with it. While at least two suspects wanted by the ICC for crimes committed in Tarhuna are in custody, Libya is yet to hand them over to the Court. Osama Elmasry Njeem, another ICC wanted suspect, is under investigation but remains free.
Over two years of technical assistance have not yielded effective results in terms of domestic accountability for serious human rights violations. While the International Commission of Jurists[1] supports the OHCHR’s recommendation to continue to provide technical assistance to the Libyan authorities, this Council must also establish a more robust independent monitoring mechanism, in the form of a Special Rapporteur.
Thank you.
Statement delivered by: Paula Casas –ICJ
For more information, contact: Sandra.epal@icj.org
[1] This is a joint statement from the ICJ, Lawyers for Justice in Libya and Libya Crimes Watch.
