Bringing justice to Libya is ‘Mission Impossible’, Security Council hears |
“If we want to create new partnerships… look at new ways of working together…[and] coalesce around human values… we can do much better in delivering justice to the people of Libya and hope that it will help in the great hope for sustainable peace”, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan told delegates via video link.
Recounting his experiences in the last few days, he stressed that “we need to do better” and that is the most important.
Mr. Khan explained that he would see victims from all parts of Libya, from Benghazi to Derna, including detained victims from Jura, Musoke and Chimera.
Tarhunah municipal government
He recalled driving two hours from Tripoli, to a place called Tarhunah where people lived in squalid conditions and spoke of “poor souls who were killed” and farms that were “very gray”.
Along with deep fears, the dead dogs and goats make it an “extremely difficult technical task” to clear the debris to find the bodies “that have been thrown in as a result, it seems, of crimes within the jurisdiction of the court”.
While praising the courageous work of Libyan forensic experts, the ICC lawyer noted that although 250 bodies have been recovered to date, very few have been identified.
Being appropriate
In a different place, he spoke to the victims and survivors, including a man who lost 24 members, and 15 others.
A mother tells a heartwarming but poignant story of what she experienced in “the kind of heartbreak” that a survivor can tell.
Expressing long-standing feelings about what the international community is doing and when the ICC will deliver justice, Mr Khan said, “We are in Libya”.
Noting that 2011 “was a long time ago”, he agreed that “we need to make sure that we are seen as important”.
The relationship pays off
There is weakness in Libya – ICC Prosecutor
Victims want the truth, they want their voices to be heard, and they want the charges to be decided by independent and impartial judges, the ICC advocate supports.
And he spoke against allowing the idea that innocence should not prevail.
Mr. Kahn said that good progress has been made on transparency and limitations because of the partnerships that have been made.
“For the first time since 2011, I can report regular presence by the staff of my office in the area. In the last reporting period… there have been 20 missions to six countries in which we have collected a lot of evidence”, said Mr. Khan.
He said the alliance had already started paying dividends, explaining that last month, the Joint Investigation Team allowed the transfer of three people from Ethiopia to domestic courts in Italy and the Netherlands.
“This shows consistency…[that] The International Criminal Court is not a high court. It is a hub and we need to work together to ensure that there is less room for negativity and big efforts. Accountability”, spelled out the ICC prosecutor.
Karim Khan (on screen), the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), briefed the UN Security Council on the situation in Libya.
Moving forward
“Libya is a major contributor. We are in Libya. This country is owned by Libya. Serious crimes are committed against Libyans. And this partnership that we are trying to refocus and build, and strengthening is very important if we want to move things forward”, continued the ICC justice.
While admitting that “cooperation is not perfect”, he believes that together, “we can move things forward”.
“It’s really not about power. It is not about the powerful”, emphasized Mr. Khan.
It is about those who want many foundations, to live in peace, and when they have suffered loss, to know what happened.
They also need a “modicum of justice” – not according to value or opinion, but rather “of the Libyan people’s feeling”.
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