On Tuesday, 26 August 2025, Libya Crimes Watch (LCW) delivered a statement during the 50th preparatory session of the Universal Periodic Review of Libya in Geneva, organised and coordinated by UPR Info. This intervention forms part of LCW’s ongoing international advocacy efforts to highlight persistent human rights violations, the absence of accountability, and the need for recommendations that ensure the protection of human rights in Libya.
LCW’s statement was based on its submission to the UPR titled “A Call for Accountability”. It highlighted patterns of grave and systematic violations still being committed in Libya, including arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, restrictions on civil space, and repression of freedom of expression. LCW emphasised that Libyan authorities have not complied with their previous commitments under the UPR framework and stressed the urgent need for recommendations ensuring the immediate release of all arbitrarily detained persons, an end to systematic enforced disappearances, and the protection of human rights defenders and journalists.
On the sidelines of the session, on Wednesday, 27 August 2025, LCW participated in an informal meeting between non-governmental organisations and European Union member states regarding Libya’s UPR. During this meeting, LCW’s representative underscored the necessity for EU countries to adopt clear and actionable recommendations to combat impunity, safeguard civil space, and ensure justice for victims.
This engagement is part of LCW’s advocacy strategy, implemented in cooperation with the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and partner organisations and in coordination with international actors, following a victim-centred approach. The strategy aims to amplify the voices of victims and mobilise international support to pressure Libyan authorities to fulfil their human rights obligations, end impunity, and ensure justice for victims.
Read the full Oral Statement:
