• Human Rights in Libya
    After more than 40 years of dictatorship under Muammar Gaddafi, Libya held elections in July. However, a weak interim government failed to disband an array of armed groups that had emerged around the country. Nor was it able to end arbitrary detention and the torture of detainees, or address the forced displacement of groups perceived to be pro-Gaddafi. Libyans suffer from ongoing violence, including tribal clashes and deadly attacks on foreign diplomatic missions and international organizations. Kidnappings for financial and political reasons persist along with targeted killings of former Gaddafi security officers. Sufi religious sites have been destroyed. Migrants from sub-Saharan Africa face arrests, beatings, and forced labor.
  • © 2011 Human Rights Watch
    Libya: Displaced People from Tawergha Barred From Return
    Libyan authorities should allow displaced residents of the city of Tawergha to return to their homes safely. Local authorities in Ajdabiya turned back a group of Tawerghans on June 25, 2013. Some had left Benghazi in a convoy of about 40 cars for Tawergha, 750 kilometers west, only to be barred passage in Ajdabiya, 150 kilometers from Benghazi.
More news »

Featured Content

    • Libya: Bodies Uncovered Near Gaddafi's Compound
      Aug 27 2011 - 15:07

      You are missing some Flash content that should appear here! Perhaps your browser cannot display it, or maybe it did not initialize correctly.
    World Report 2013: Libya
    Collection of never-before-seen pictures of Gaddafi
Subscribe to content feed

Reports

More >>

Libya

  • Libya: Displaced People from Tawergha Barred From Return
    Jun 27, 2013
    Libyan authorities should allow displaced residents of the city of Tawergha to return to their homes safely. Local authorities in Ajdabiya turned back a group of Tawerghans on June 25, 2013. Some had left Benghazi in a convoy of about 40 cars for Tawergha, 750 kilometers west, only to be barred passage in Ajdabiya, 150 kilometers from Benghazi.
  • Libya: Blasphemy Charges Over Election Posters
    Jun 20, 2013
    Libyan judicial authorities should immediately drop all criminal charges that violate freedom of speech over election poster cartoons against two Libyan National Party officials. Under the laws being applied in this case, the men could face the death penalty over posters their party displayed during the 2012 election campaign for the General National Congress.
  • For Libya to end the violence, it needs to shut down the militias
    Jun 18, 2013
    From tragedy can come positive change. The Libyan government has that chance, after violent clashes last week between a militia and residents of Benghazi left 32 people dead.
  • Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 14 June
    Jun 14, 2013
  • Libya: No Impunity for ‘Black Saturday’ Benghazi Deaths
    Jun 13, 2013
    Libyan authorities should promptly and thoroughly investigate the violent clashes in Benghazi on June 8, 2013, that left 32 people dead. The authorities should also hold those who violated the law accountable, the group said.
  • ICC: Libya Should Comply With Court’s Ruling
    May 31, 2013

    Libya should abide by the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision on May 31, 2013, and turn over Saif al-Islam Gaddafi to the court.

  • Women face challenges as Libya moves toward a new constitution
    May 31, 2013
    “I have waited my whole life for tomorrow, which will be a new day for Libya,” an elated Haja Nowara told Human Rights Watch on the eve of Libya’s first democratic national elections in July 2012. “We sacrificed a lot to get here.”
  • Learning a Lesson from Libya & Iraq: Reconciliation, Not Revenge!
    May 29, 2013
    Even as Syria’s nightmare continues, policy makers should consider the country’s future once hostilities end. Those planning for Syria’s “day after” should learn a lesson from the past and avoid an approach just adopted in Libya, and before that in Iraq, that will widen divisions rather than heal the wounds.
  • Libya: Seize Chance to Protect Women’s Rights
    May 26, 2013
    Libyan authorities should seize a historic opportunity to promote and protect women’s rights as the country transitions from four decades of dictatorship, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today.
  • ICC: Libya's Bids to Try Gaddafi, Sanussi
    May 13, 2013

    On February 26, 2011, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 1970 by a vote of 15-0 referring the situation in Libya to the ICC. Under the Rome Statute, the ICC's founding treaty, the Security Council may refer a situation in any country to the ICC prosecutor under its Chapter VII mandate if it determines that the situation threatens international peace and security.

more documents on this topic »