Lawyers for Justice in Libya welcomes appointment of experts to the Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Libya and calls for work to begin without delay

Lawyers for Justice in Libya (LFJL) welcomes the appointment of three experts to the Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Libya (the Mission). Mohamed Auajjar, chair, (Morocco), Tracy Robinson (Jamaica) and Chaloka Beyani (Zambia and UK) were appointed by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on 19 August 2020 pursuant to UN Human Rights Council resolution A/HRC/43/L.40 which called for the establishment of the Mission.

In particular, LFJL welcomes the notable expertise of the members in the human rights of women, migrants, refugees and internally displaced persons, their broad expertise across international human rights and international criminal law and the essential inclusion of a native Arabic speaker.

The Mission is mandated to document human rights and international humanitarian law violations and abuses committed in Libya since 2016 and ensure the preservation of evidence of such violations with a view to holding perpetrators accountable.

LFJL has called for such a mechanism  for years, and welcomed the establishment of the Mission as a step in the right direction to help end the impunity that has prevailed in Libya for far too long.  

Now that experts have been appointed, LFJL reiterates its call on all UN Member States to provide the support needed to ensure that the Mission is established in a timely manner and is provided the necessary resources to implement its mandate fully and effectively without delay.

LFJL further reiterates its call on the Government of National Accord (GNA), GNA-affiliated armed groups, the authorities in the East of the country,including the House of Representatives and Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar and his Libyan Arab Armed Forces and affiliated groups, to offer full cooperation to the mandate holders, including providing unhindered access and support to ensure investigations are carried out fully and independently.