Libya Crimes Watch (LCW) has officially submitted its report to the United Nations Human Rights Council for the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Fourth Cycle. This report, based on extensive field research conducted by LCW’s Monitoring and Documentation team across Libya during the last four years, highlights the severe human rights situation in the country and underscores the urgent need for accountability and reform.
Since Libya’s last UPR review in 2020, Libyan authorities in the east and west, as well as armed groups across the country, have committed grave human rights violations and war crimes and continue to target political dissidents, human rights defenders, journalists, and marginalized communities. Our report highlights three key areas of concern:
- Arbitrary Arrests and Enforced Disappearances: LCW has documented numerous cases of arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances carried out by security forces, affecting activists, journalists, and individuals with differing political or religious views. These violations persist due to a lack of accountability and a deeply entrenched culture of impunity.
- Freedom of Belief and Religious Persecution: Individuals expressing non-religious beliefs or accused of apostasy face harassment, detention, and torture. Religious minorities, particularly those following Sufi practices, suffer state-sponsored persecution, with arrests continuing under vague laws designed to suppress both religious and political dissent.
- Attacks on Activists, Journalists, and Civil Society: Journalists and human rights defenders remain under constant threat. LCW has documented alarming cases of arbitrary detentions and attacks on individuals and groups engaged in civic activism and media. The ongoing repression of civil society severely undermines freedom of expression and the right to assemble peacefully.
In its report, LCW has provided several recommendations on each of these issues, which can be summarized as follows:
- Immediate reforms to end arbitrary detention and forced disappearances, including the urgent release of all detainees held without due process.
- The repeal of laws used to restrict freedom of expression, including those criminalizing apostasy and blasphemy, and an end to the practice of forced confessions.
- Immediate action to protect journalists and human rights defenders from arbitrary detention, torture, and unfair trials.
In line with LCW’s commitment to advocating for victims and promoting accountability, we are sharing our findings and recommendations with international partners, decision-makers, and human rights bodies. We call on the countries with active roles in Libya to press for holding Libyan authorities accountable and urge them to adopt these critical recommendations to improve the human rights situation in Libya.
Salem (pseudonym), the son of a victim, shared:
“From day one, LCW has been a powerful and supportive voice for our family. They helped us connect with international mechanisms and organisations to convey our demands. Despite my father’s ongoing enforced disappearance, we continue to work tirelessly together to uncover his fate and achieve justice.”
Ahmed Mustafa, Head of Monitoring and Documentation at LCW, commented:
“This report represents the voices of many victims of human rights violations across Libya. LCW is committed to ensuring that these voices are heard and that those responsible are held accountable.”
LCW will continue to closely monitor the situation, provide updates, and support efforts to bring justice to the victims of these violations.
For more information or to request the full report, please email us at: info@lcw.ngo
