CANCELLED Libya: Finding Routes to Justice Amidst Conflict

Abstract

Following the 2011 uprising that resulted in the overthrow of the Gaddafi regime, Libya has been involved in internal conflicts since 2014, with hostilities increasing in April 2019 as General Khalifa Haftar launched an assault on Tripoli. All sides to the conflict, which include various armed militia groups, have been implicated in war crimes. Furthermore, violations of international law have been committed against migrants, both independent from and in connection with the armed conflict. Despite the ongoing conflict, Lawyers for Justice in Libya (LFJL) continues actively to pursue justice for all those in Libya, including through advocacy for independent investigations and prosecutions and through current and future submissions to the International Criminal Court, the UN Security Council, Human Rights Council, special procedures and treaty bodies, the African Commission and to foreign countries based on universal jurisdiction. By working with its Libyan civil society partners, LFJL seeks to improve access to justice and documents and archives ongoing violations of international law that could be utilised not only for future prosecutions, but also for broader justice initiatives, such as issuing reports on violations of international law, gaining support for sanctions against human rights violators, facilitating the realization of the right to truth, informing acknowledgement and memorialization efforts and creating reparations programs.

Bio

Elham Saudi is the co-founder and Director of Lawyers for Justice in Libya. She is a solicitor with expertise in human rights and international humanitarian law. She has advised a number of Libyan, European and international bodies in relation to the Libyan conflict. Elham holds a degree in Arabic and Modern Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Oxford and an LLM in International Law from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. She is a former Visiting Professor at the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice and a former Associate Fellow in the International Law Programme at Chatham House.