by Mohammed Usman
DOHA: Most of the human rights violations in post-revolution Libya emanate from rivalries between supporters of former president Muammar Gaddafi and his opponents, a visiting human rights activist from the country said yesterday.
Waleed Kawaan, a member of the National Council for General Freedoms and Human Rights, which was established immediately after the revolution, said that many Libyans who migrated from the country during the revolution are not willing to come back for fear of revenge from rival clans and cities.
Kaawan is in Doha attending a regional human rights conference that began at The Ritz-Carlton yesterday.
“Most human rights violations in Libya do not emanate from pre-planned policies or strategies but they are related to enmity between supporters and opponents of Gaddafi. They originate from what we call town rivalry and revenge seeking,” Kaawan told The Peninsula on the sidelines of the conference.
He said that the main challenge facing human rights activists in Libya is the lack of a human rights culture. People still didn’t get rid of the old mentality that all the institutions are controlled by the government.
The first report of the council released recently has highlighted two main issues in human rights, said Kaawan.
The first one is related to internally displaced Libyans as well as those who migrated to other countries and are afraid to come back due to a feeling of insecurity.
The council which has five branches in Benghazi, Misrata, Jabal Al Akdhar and Jabal Al Nafousa is following up on the internally displaced people and closely monitoring the human rights situation.
The second issue is serious human rights violations taking place inside prisons.
“The council conducted surprise inspections and found that many prisons still belong to the militias and are not controlled by the government. And the prisons under the government lack many basic facilities,” said Kaawan.
“Many prisons are overcrowded and do not meet the required standards. Cases of many detainees are not investigated and transferred to court. Prisoners are not classified according to their health condition,” he added.
The council found many incidents of torture and ill treatment in jails and collective punishment of prisoners.
“After efforts by the government and the council, the situation is improving and the number of prisons out of government control is declining,” said Kaawan.
He said the council had successfully forced the government to change some new laws that violate basic human rights. For instance, the new government passed a law that made supporting Gaddafi a crime.
“We took the issue to the judiciary and the court forced the government to cancel it since it was against human rights and freedom of speech,” he added.
The Peninsula
