A/HRC/34/42
68.
UNSMIL/OHCHR visited Mitiga and Sabha detention centres in May and July 2016
and observed dire conditions. An armed group, the Special Deterrence Force, runs Mitiga
detention centre. Its representatives said that the facility was holding approximately 1,700
people, of whom only 91 had been sentenced by a court. There were 200 women and 120
children being held. Detainees were held in severely overcrowded conditions, lacking
ventilation and light. Women were guarded by male prison guards. Little progress was
made on an agreement to allow the Office of the Prosecutor General to screen cases in
Mitiga to determine the legality of detention and either send detainees for trial or release
them.
69.
It is estimated that between 4,000 and 7,000 migrants are held arbitrarily in
detention centres run by the Department for Combating Illegal Migration. Numbers
fluctuate and there is no registration system to record the movement of migrants in and out
of detention. Armed groups, individuals and security forces bring migrants to detention
centres with no legal process. There is no judicial review or other oversight mechanism.
Various armed groups can gain access to detention centres to bring or remove migrants.
70.
As described in the present report, conditions in migration detention centres are
inhuman. Migrants are also held illegally in irregular detention centres managed by armed
groups and so-called “connection houses” run by armed groups, smugglers and traffickers.
Connection houses hold migrants for short periods, prior to their being transferred onto
smuggling and trafficking routes.
Support
71.
UNSMIL/OHCHR provided technical advice in early 2016 to the Constitution
Drafting Assembly, including during a three-week workshop held in Oman.
72.
UNSMIL/OHCHR has also supported workshops on the judiciary, prison
management and international human rights mechanisms for Libyan officials and other
counterparts, in cooperation with the International Commission of Jurists, the United States
Institute of Peace and Lawyers for Justice in Libya. Between May and November, it also
carried out 11 visits to places of detention in Tripoli, Misrata and Sabha. It provided advice
to the Judicial Police and armed groups in Tripoli on the process of moving detainees from
unofficial places of detention to official Judicial Police detention and to the Presidency
Council regarding appropriate vetting procedures for establishing the presidential guard. It
has also worked on the implementation of the United Nations human rights due diligence
policy on United Nations support to non-United Nations security forces.
73.
UNSMIL/OHCHR has advocated for the Presidency Council to appoint a focal point
on justice issues, in the absence of an acting Minister of Justice. Implementation of the
justice and rule of law provisions of the Libyan Political Agreement are also important,
including through disarmament, demobilization and reintegration. Further efforts are
needed on vetting and discipline systems for newly established security forces. There
should be full implementation of the United Nations human rights due diligence policy,
including appropriate mitigation measures, by the United Nations in Libya. The
international community will also need to screen recipients of technical assistance and
capacity-building programmes.
VI. Transitional justice
74.
Despite the provisions of article 26 (5) of the Libyan Political Agreement, which
commit parties to the implementation of Law No. 29 of 2013 on transitional justice,
progress has been limited. The fact-finding and reconciliation commission provided for by
the Law has not been established, nor has its Board been appointed. The victims’
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