Support to the efforts of Libya to fulfill its HR reporting obligations

16-18 September 2023, Tunis (Tunisia)

On the request by the MoJ, a workshop hosted by UNDP was organised in coordination with No Peace Without Justice and UNSMIL HRS/OHCHR and supported by the Italian government.

Background 
In 2020, the Libyan Ministry of Justice (MoJ) established drafting committees to abide by the reporting requirements of the following international human rights mechanisms:

• The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
• The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
• The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT)
• The International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (ICRPD)

In addition, a fifth drafting committee was established to finalise the Core Common Document of Libya, which gives an overview on the national reporting mechanisms in support of the signed international treaties.

External national and international experts have been involved in providing support to each committee since then. No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ) and UNSMIL HRS/OHCHR have been supporting the drafting committees in the past three years, in line with the OHCHR resolution 42/30 on “promoting international cooperation to support national mechanisms for implementation, reporting and follow-up”. It should be mentioned that this workshop is part of the EC funded project implemented by NPWJ in cooperation with the MoJ since 2020.

Objectives, results and participants
The main objective of the workshop was to provide additional support to the drafting committees, through a refresher on the international reporting mechanisms for human rights and exchanges on updates and plans on the drafting process of the reports.  On the last day, a concrete action plan for the finalisation, validation and submission of reports to their respective reporting mechanisms was developed.

Participants included members of the Libyan Ministry of Justice, members of the five drafting committees, international experts, representatives of UNDP, UNSMIL HRS/OHCHR, and NPWJ, UN and donor partners.

Following this refresher workshop, a validation workshop is foreseen for the end of the year to finalise the drafting process of these reports.

For further information, please contact Frej Fenniche (MENA Regional representative) on ffenniche@npwj.org or Nicola Giovannini (Press & Public Affairs Coordinator) on ngiovannini@npwj.org.