A/HRC/19/68 I. Introduction 1. On 25 February 2011, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution S-15/1 on the situation of human rights in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, in which the Council decided, inter alia, to dispatch an independent, international commission of inquiry. 2. On 15 March 2011, the President of the Human Rights Council established the Commission of Inquiry and appointed its three members: Asma Khader (Jordan), Philippe Kirsch (Canada), and M. Cherif Bassiouni (Egypt). The President also designated Mr. Bassiouni as Chairperson, a role taken over by Mr. Kirsch in October 2011. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights supported the Commission with a secretariat. 3. In its resolution S-15/1, the Human Rights Council requested the Commission to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, establish the facts and circumstances of such violations and of the crimes perpetrated and where possible, to identify those responsible, to make recommendations, in particular, on accountability measures, all with a view to ensuring that those individuals responsible are held accountable. Given the referral of the events in Libya to the International Criminal Court by the Security Council, the Commission also considered the events in the light of international criminal law. 4. On 15 June 2011, the Commission submitted a report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/17/44), in which it set out its findings. In its resolution 17/17, the Council extended the mandate of the Commission in the light of the extensive and ongoing allegations of abuses, and requested it to present a second report to the Council at its nineteenth session. 5. In its previous report, the Commission noted that the legal regimes applicable during each phase of the conflict differed. International humanitarian law and international human rights law applied throughout phase II (armed conflict). With the end of armed conflict (phase III), international human rights law became predominant. 6. As in the case of its first report, the Commission took a cautious approach when assessing the information gathered. It relied, where possible, on its own observations and first-hand accounts. It bore in mind the fact that it was not seeking evidence of a standard to support a criminal conviction, but rather making an assessment based on a “balance of probabilities” to determine whether a violation had occurred. 7. The Commission faced a number of significant challenges. Security and administrative difficulties prevented a return to the field until October 2011 and no substantive investigations were possible before December 2011. There were also logistical difficulties in the Commission’s access to places and individuals. 8. Notwithstanding these constraints, the Commission was able to gather substantial evidence. The present report is strictly limited in length and allows only for a general summary of the findings on some of the most serious allegations investigated.1 9. The Commission is grateful to the new Government of Libya, other States, United Nations agencies, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and other organizations who gave assistance to the commission. It is especially appreciative of the valuable information provided by victims and witnesses of violations 1 4 A more comprehensive account of the findings of the Commission of Inquiry (A/HRC/19/CRP.1), including examples of significant evidence, is available on the website of the Human Rights Council.