(credit: icctwitter)  International Criminal Court Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda

By Gary Raynaldo      DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

UNITED  NATIONS – NEW  YORK –  The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor called on  Libya’s warring parties to implement their recent historic ceasefire agreement, calling it a “welcome concrete development” for a population that has been yearning for peace.   ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda made the appeal in her briefing to the UN Security Council on Tuesday, just weeks after the Government of National Accord (GNA) and the rival Libyan National Army (LNA) signed the deal in Geneva under the auspices of the UN. 

“This is indeed a welcome concrete development. We call on the parties to assiduously implement the agreement to usher in the much awaited peace and stability for the people of Libya. Victims of atrocity crimes in Libya must be reassured that notwithstanding any ceasefire or future agreement, individuals alleged to be responsible for serious crimes falling under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or the “Court”) will be promptly arrested and surrendered to the Court to face charges for their alleged crimes.”

-ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda

For nearly a decade, the ICC has been investigating crimes against humanity, as well as war crimes, allegedly committed in Libya.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, ICC Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, presents her Office’s 20th report on the Situation in Libya to the UN Security Council, remotely through VTC Nov. 10, 2020 /  ©ICC-CPI

In her update to Ambassadors, Bensouda reported that despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ICC remains “resilient and productive”, with two crucial investigative missions deployed to Libya since May.   Libya has been in chaos since the 2011 overthrow of former leader, the late Muammar Gaddafi, resulting in the two rival administrations, with the GNA based in the capital, Tripoli, and the LNA controlling large areas in the east. 

ICC Investigating Discovery of Multiple Mass Graves in Libya

The ICC Prosecutor’s office has been engaging with the authorities following the discovery of multiple mass graves in June.  So far, more than 100 bodies have been exhumed. Many of the victims were blindfolded and had their hands tied. 

The ICC has also received information on the recently ended offensive on the capital, Tripoli, carried out by the LNA and supporting forces.   Bensouda said the operation repeated a pattern of violence previously recorded in other cities, involving indiscriminate air strikes and shelling of civilian areas, arbitrary abductions, detention and torture of civilians, extrajudicial killings, and enforced disappearances.