The situation in Libya - Security Council, 10052nd meeting

The International Criminal Court (ICC) Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan will brief on Libya.

The recent arrest by German authorities of the alleged Libyan war criminal Khaled el Hishri — and his expected imminent handover to the International Criminal Court — mark a major step forward in long-delayed efforts to bring accountability for crimes committed in the North African nation, the Security Council stressed today, following a briefing by the Court’s Deputy Prosecutor. “There is a new momentum towards justice in Libya,” said Nazhat Shameem Khan, Deputy-Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, as she briefed the 15-member Council. Following the landmark detention of Mr. el Hishri — alleged to have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity at Libya’s notorious Mitiga Prison, such as murder, torture and rape — she said the Court’s first trial on the situation in Libya is now on the horizon. Mr. el Hishri is expected to be transferred to the Court imminently. 

Throughout the ensuing debate, many Council members praised the Court’s accelerating progress in Libya as a “milestone” whose momentum must be maintained. Others raised concerns that it may be overstepping the bounds of its jurisdiction in the country or imposing external visions of justice, counter to the core principle of complementarity. 

Still other speakers rejected the Court’s mandate whole cloth, explaining their longstanding opposition to its work and citing Libya as a prime example of its failings.