Libya: Human Rights

Libya is a parliamentary democracy with a temporary Constitutional Declaration that allows for the exercise of a full range of political, civil, and judicial rights. Following the fall of Qadhafi?s regime in 2011, the National Transitional Council (NTC) oversaw a free and fair election in July 2012 and handed power to an elected parliament, the General National Congress (GNC), in August 2012. The General National Congress appointed a prime minister in November 2012 to head an interim government. These steps led to the formal establishment of the new ?State of Libya? on January 9. The interim government did not maintain effective control over the security forces and did not establish full security control throughout the country by year?s end. Security forces largely composed of disparate militias nominally and intermittently under the authority of the Defense and Interior Ministries committed human rights abuses. The most serious human rights problems during the year resulted from the absence of effective justice and security institutions. Consequences of the failure of the rule of law included arbitrary and unlawful killings, including politically motivated killings by groups outside or only nominally under government control; torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; and harsh and life-threatening conditions in (sometimes illegal) detention and prison facilities. Other important human rights abuses included arbitrary arrest and detention; lengthy pretrial detention; denial of a fair public trial; an ineffective judicial system staffed by intimidated judicial authorities; arbitrary interference with privacy and home; use of excessive force and other abuses in internal conflicts; localized restrictions on humanitarian aid to civilians; limits on the freedoms of speech and press, including violence against and harassment of journalists; restrictions on freedom of religion; abuses of internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees, and migrants; corruption and lack of transparency in government; social discrimination against and societal abuse of women and ethnic and racial minorities, including foreign workers; legal and social discrimination based on sexual orientation; trafficking in persons; killings related to societal violence; and violations of labor rights, including forced labor.