NPWJ organised two meetings in Tripoli this week focused on specific aspects of interest for the Libyan transition within its program aimed at strengthening the capacity of Libyan actors on Transitional Justice.

In the morning of 29 January, the NPWJ team was invited by the Students’ Union to present a lecture on the basic principles of Transitional justice at the University of Tripoli. In the presence of more than 40 students, Stefano Moschini, NPWJ Libya Program Coordinator, introduced the main TJ mechanisms, underlining the challenges that Libyan institutions and civil society are facing in this crucial moment. The Dean of the Faculty of Political Science intervened, animating the discussion that was followed by several questions and comments from the students. This colloquium was the first of a series of four that NPWJ will organise over the next two weeks in collaboration with the Student Union.

In the afternoon of 29 January, as part of the series of civil society colloquiums that NPWJ has organised regularly since the launch of the Libya program, NPWJ convened a colloquium on the situation of the international displaced people (IDP) in Libya, focused on the Tawerga case. The city of Tawerga, just outside Misurata, was emptied during the revolution. Its inhabitants were forced to flee during the uprising of 2012, since they were considered to be responsible for atrocities committed against the people in Misurata. Most of its people are currently living in IDP camps in areas surrounding Tripoli and Benghazi.

During the discussion, participants (including members of both communities) had the opportunity to know more about the situation of the IDPs in Libya and the terrible conditions in which they live. All participants, devoted to the ideal of justice and that the perpetrators of the atrocities committed in the past should be held responsible for their crimes, agreed on the fact that responsibility should be attributed on a personal level, without criminalising entire communities. Moreover, participants noted that the displacement of thousands of people shouldn’t be considered a positive outcome of the revolution. The participants thanked NPWJ for this opportunity and expressed their willingness to continue having dialogue and contributing to the national reconciliation.

NPWJ in Libya
NPWJ has been working on the Libyan transition since early 2011, in the framework of its project to support Libya’s democratic transition through justice and accountability. As the country embarks on legislative reforms, the Libyan authorities can break with the legacy of impunity and abuses that typified Gaddafi’s rule with a new respect for the rule of law and a commitment to restoring justice and dignity to victims. Doing so requires not only the investigation and prosecution of the crimes and violence perpetrated during the revolution, but also efforts to confront a history of oppression and human rights abuses that dates back decades under the rule of the former regime.

For further information on the activities of NPWJ in Libya please contact Stefano Moschini, Libya Program Coordinator, at smoschini@npwj.org  or +218917450375.