Kampala - Justice, accountability and the deterrent effects of the law remain “critical components” for achieving lasting peace in Libya, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) told the United Nations Security Council on Thursday.
ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda encouraged Libya’s government to give priority to devising effective plans and strategies to address atrocity crimes, and to invest in the relevant national institutions responsible for such work.
“This will demonstrate, in concrete terms, that justice and accountability constitute key government priorities underpinning efforts to ensure peace and stability in Libya, and that the victims will have the opportunity to seek redress through the Libyan courts,” said Bensouda as she presented her latest report on the situation in the country to the Council.
Bensouda said that the past six months had witnessed significant developments in Libya’s “slow and difficult” process towards the establishment of a unity government, and that her office hoped that the signing in December 2015 of the UN-brokered agreement “marks the beginning of the end of the long period of turmoil and conflict in Libya.”
Bensouda said her office is ready to work collaboratively with Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) in its efforts to build a secure, peaceful and prosperous Libya for all Libyan people.
Over the same period, her office’s investigation into the Libya situation had progressed, albeit at a slower pace than it would have liked due to lack of sufficient resources and the prevailing precarious security situation in the country, the prosecutor said.
Despite such challenges, her office’s investigations were continuing to yield positive results, in large part due to the cooperation of the Libyan Prosecutor-General’s office.
Her office was continuing to carefully analyse and assess the evidence in its possession to determine whether the requisite legal standards were met to request additional arrest warrants, the prosecutor said.
Turning to the situation in Libya, Bensouda said it requires collaboration and coordination between all relevant actors at the national, regional and international levels, as well as the support of the Council.
“Success in Libya therefore depends on the collective determination and will of all relevant actors to meaningfully contribute to the course of bringing perpetrators to justice and by so doing, help deter the commission of future crimes,” she said.
The threat of Da’esh or other groups proclaiming allegiance to al-Qaeda remained real and the consequences were too costly to be ignored, the prosecutor said.
Such consequences included instability and the dire humanitarian situation in Libya, which in turn result in mass migration and the spread of terrorism in the country and the region.
In that vein, the prosecutor reiterated calls to all national and international law enforcement agencies working on Libya to contact her office and join in its efforts to strengthen the network of law enforcement agencies that “aim to contribute to bringing an end to civilian suffering and destruction in Libya.”
“I remain convinced that increased cooperation between and amongst relevant actors as well as coordinated investigative activities are key for tackling national, transnational and international crimes that continue to plague Libya and for ensuring that those responsible for committing these crimes have no safe haven anywhere,” she said.
The prosecutor further urged the GNA to prioritise the transfer of Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of former dictator, to its own custody and facilitate his surrender to the ICC.
– African News Agency