The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Press Conferences | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Seif Magango on UN report urges accountability for violations in Tarhuna, Libya
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Seif Magango made the following comments at the bi-weekly briefing in Geneva: “A new report we are issuing jointly with the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) warns that the continued lack of accountability and years of impunity enjoyed by those behind the human rights violations and abuses committed in the Libyan city of Tarhuna between 2013 and 2022 risks fuelling more instability and division in the country.”
“The report details how the Al-Kaniyat, an armed element which emerged in 2011 and exercised brutal control over Tarhuna, a city of some 150,000 people 90 km southeast of Tripoli, carried out gross human rights violations and abuses including killings, disappearances, sexual violence, abductions, torture, ill-treatment and forced displacement between 2013 and 2022,” Magango said.
“It decries the failure to deliver justice which has in some instances led to renewed violence and repeated violations, fomenting further grievances in Tarhuna and surrounding areas Al-Kaniyat’s integration into the former Government of National Accord (GNA) and later the Libyan National Army (LNA), says the report, has been a significant barrier to accountability and justice,” he said.
“Commenting on the report, High Commissioner Volker Türk said: ‘Years have passed since these terrible violations were committed, but the perpetrators have still not been brought to justice, nor have truth, justice or reparations been delivered to victims and their families. The impunity must end – there must be accountability in accordance with international due process and fair trial standards,’” Magango said.
The report – which complements and builds on the 2022 findings of the Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Libya – recommends a comprehensive transitional justice and reconciliation process, with meaningful truth-seeking measures and effective reparations for victims, including legal aid, mental health support and guarantees of non-repetition, designed in consultation with those directly affected. It also calls for robust accountability measures, through investigations and prosecutions of alleged perpetrators in line with international standards.
“The 2022 Fact-Finding Mission report detailed evidence of atrocities committed in Tarhuna, including through the discovery of mass graves containing hundreds of humans remains, most of them handcuffed, blindfolded and bearing signs of torture, and warned of the possibility that there could be up to 100 more such mass burial sites,” Magango said.
ENDS
Find the full report in English here.
Find the full report in Arabic here.
For more information and media requests, please contact:
In Geneva
Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org or
Thameen Al-Kheetan - + 41 76 223 77 62 / thameen.alkheetan@un.org
Seif Magango - +254 788 343 897 / seif.magango@un.org
Tag and share
Twitter @UNHumanRights
Facebook unitednationshumanrights
Instagram @unitednationshumanrights
STORY: UN Human Rights Spokesperson Seif Magango on UN report urging accountability for violations in Tarhuna, Libya.
TRT: 02:45
SOURCE: UNTV/OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 30 August 2024 – GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior shot : Palais des Nations
- Wide shot : briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Seif Magango, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “A new report we are issuing jointly with the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) warns that the continued lack of accountability and years of impunity enjoyed by those behind the human rights violations and abuses committed in the Libyan city of Tarhuna between 2013 and 2022 risk fuelling more instability and division in the country.”
- Cutaway: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Seif Magango, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “The report details how the Al-Kaniyat, an armed element which emerged in 2011 and exercised brutal control over Tarhuna, a city of some 150,000 people 90 km southeast of Tripoli, carried out gross human rights violations and abuses including killings, disappearances, sexual violence, abductions, torture, ill-treatment and forced displacement between 2013 and 2022.”
- Cutaway: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Seif Magango, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “It decries the failure to deliver justice which has in some instances led to renewed violence and repeated violations, fomenting further grievances in Tarhuna and surrounding areas Al-Kaniyat’s integration into the former Government of National Accord (GNA) and later the Libyan National Army (LNA), says the report, has been a significant barrier to accountability and justice.”
- Cutaway: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Seif Magango, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Commenting on the report, High Commissioner Volker Türk said: ‘Years have passed since these terrible violations were committed, but the perpetrators have still not been brought to justice, nor have truth, justice or reparations been delivered to victims and their families. The impunity must end – there must be accountability in accordance with international due process and fair trial standards.’”
- Cutaway: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Seif Magango, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “The 2022 Fact-Finding Mission report detailed evidence of atrocities committed in Tarhuna, including through the discovery of mass graves containing hundreds of humans remains, most of them handcuffed, blindfolded and bearing signs of torture, and warned of the possibility that there could be up to 100 more such mass burial sites.”
- Cutaway: Briefing room
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WHO , IFRC , ICRC , UNHCR , WMO , UN80
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Policy, and spokespersons and representatives from the World Health Organization, International Committee of the Red Cross, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the World Meteorological Organization.
2
1
2
Press Conferences | UNCTAD
Global investment is rising again. But it's becoming more concentrated, more selective and less accessible to many developing countries.
The recovery remains fragile. Growth is concentrated in a small number of economies and in capital- and technology-intensive sectors.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UN , ODET , ITU , UNESCO , PGA
Opening of the Global Dialogue on AI Governance
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WHO , UNHCR , IOM , WMO
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section, United Nations Information Service (UNIS) at Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organization for Migration, the World Health Organization, the World Meteorological Organization and the International Telecommunication Union.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC , UNCTAD , UNDP , UNECE , UNHCR
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section, United Nations Information Service (UNIS) at Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IFRC , IOM , ITU , OCHA , OHCHR , UNHCR , WFP , WHO , WMO
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations at the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons and representatives of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the Pan American Health Organization, the International Organization for Migration, the International Telecommunication Union, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the World Food Programme, and the World Meteorological Organization.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IPU
Briefing with IPU Secretary General-Elect Anda Filip
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OHCHR
1
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC
Latest report from the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel on violations against Palestinian children.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | ECW , FAO , IFRC , IOM , OCHA , WFP , WHO
UN Geneva press briefing chaired by Rolando Gómez, Chief, Press and External Relations Section, UN Information Service with representatives of IOM, FAO, WFP, OCHA, WHO, IFRC, Education Cannot Wait.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OHCHR
Press conference of the Special Rapporteur on the right to health on her report to HRC62 focused on Health as an enabler of dignity
1
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC , UNICEF , UNHCR , IOM , WHO , UNFPA
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations at the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons and representatives of the Human Rights Council, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the International Organization for Migration, and the United Nations Population Fund.