Commemorating the United Nations Day in Support of Victims of Torture the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) conducted a series of events in Libya on the prevention of torture, cruel and inhuman or degrading treatment.
On June 26,
2012, the OMCT jointly with the Libyan Judges Organisation and the Libyan Group
to Monitor Human Rights Violations held a public panel discussion on June 26,
2012, entitled “The prohibition of torture in Libya : Why, how and when?” The panel recalled the obligations
for the new Libyan State to prevent and to protect from torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment and addressed strategies for civil society to prevent torture and to
ensure access to justice for victims of torture. The event held at the headquarters of the
Tripoli Bar Association was attended by lawyers and human rights and civil
society activists, representatives of the UN mission to Libya and
the international community, members of international human rights
organisations and the media.

June 26 event at the Tripoli Bar Association
Headquarters, the three panellists were, from left to right, Professor Salah Al
Marghani, Libyan Professor of Law and High Commissioner for the National
Elections Chilean human rights lawyer Robert Garreton, ex-Special Rapporteur to
DRC and member of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and his consecutive
translator, and Tunisian Judge Kalthoum Kennou, President of the Association of
Tunisian Judges and Commissioner to the International Commission of Jurists.
Subsequently the OMCT and the Libyan Judges Organisation held its first workshop entitled “The Prohibition of Torture and Other Forms of Ill-treatment in the Justice System” from June 27-29 in Tripoli. Participants included 25 Libyan judges, prosecutors and lawyers from across Libya. The workshop addressed the international legal framework against torture and other ill-treatment, questions of implementation and compatibility of national legislation, existing lacunas in domestic law with regard to the criminalization of torture, and of judicial safeguards protecting arrested, accused and detained persons. The workshop also discussed different mechanisms for the Libyan transitional justice process, and the role of the legal community in ensuring victims with access to justice for torture and ill-treatment. Finally, a core concern considered by the participants was the issue of sexual violence and ways to create a confidential and secure system for victims to access justice.

First day of
training, the two trainers were Kalthoum Kennou and Roberto Garreton, next to
them is Marwan Tashani, the head of the Libyan Judges Organisation.
Following the three day workshop, the participants formulated a set of recommendations, including for the future members of the drafting committee of the new Constitution, and future members of the legislative and executive government. Those included:
- to enshrine the absolute prohibition against torture and all forms of ill-treatment without exception firmly in the constitution;
- to recognise the universal principles of human rights law, and the obligations of the state with regards to the prohibition of torture;
- to review the statute of limitations attached to criminal or civil proceedings with regards to cases of torture;
- to amend domestic laws so that they fall in line with the provisions of all international instruments ratified by Libya;
- to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture;
- to amend the provisions of the Penal Code in order to criminalise all acts of torture, including complicity in torture, and including acts committed under official orders;
- to allow human rights and civil society organisations to carry out visits of detention facilities and assess the conditions of individual detainees;
- for the authorities to take appropriate measures to provide support to victims of torture;
- to organise training courses in order to sensitise law enforcement officers, members of government bodies mandated with supervising detention facilities, members of the judiciary, forensic doctors and medical staff, as well as all other relevant individuals interacting with detainees.

The workshop is
part of a two year effort of the OMCT to increase victims’ access to justice
and building specialized civil society capacity against torture and
ill-treatment in Libya. The project is conducted jointly with the International
Rehabilitation Centre for Victims of Torture and possible due to the generous
financial support of the European Union.
For further information please contact:
Belkis Wille, Human Rights Officer (Middle East and North Africa) at the OMCT, bw@omct.org, + 41 22 809 49 39