Address by UN's SRSG for Libya, Tarek Mitri, at the Conference on Human Rights in in Libya, Al-Baida, 30th May 2013
I am pleased to join this session as you are about to conclude your conference on Human Rights in Libya. One cannot overemphasize that the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) is greatly interested in your efforts and all similar endeavors; it is also keen to accompany attempts aiming at raising awareness in human rights protection and the consolidation of values on which human rights and its principles are based.
Security Council Resolution 2095, which extended the mandate of the Mission in March 2013, stipulates that it is the duty of the Mission to work in accordance with the Libyan national priorities. The issue of human rights has been one of those priorities since the start of the revolution. And within this context, it is also the duty of the Mission to support Libyan efforts aiming at the promotion of rule of law and human rights monitoring and protection, including those related to women and vulnerable groups, as well as ensuring humane treatment of detainees and enabling them access to due legal and judicial processes.
The Mission is also required to offer assistance to the competent Libyan authorities in the areas of judicial and correctional reform and rebuilding in a manner that ensures transparency and accountability, as well as development and implementation of a comprehensive transitional justice strategy, and advancement of national reconciliation.
In light of this mandate, and based on its responsibilities, UNSMIL, since its earliest days, has demonstrated its commitment to providing advice and assistance for a better documentation and more accurate knowledge of the extensive human rights violations, including killings, torture and forced disappearances that took place under the former despotic regime.
