A circular issued by the Tripoli Civil Society Commission in application of executive order 286

Cases
Case status
Unknown
Location of case in SG report
2021-068-001
Relevant SG report
Year of the report
2021
Country Geolocation

Latitude: 26.3351

Longitude: 17.228331

Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
Libya
From Region
Type of record
General situation addressed
Was the victim a foreign national?
No
Was the victim a minor?
No
Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
No
Reported trigger of reprisal

Communicating with the UN

Type of attempted engagement
  • Meeting with UN officials during country visit / with locally present UN officials
  • Participation in meeting on UN premises
  • Submission of information to UN
  • UN raised case of person/organization
Dates of mentioned reprisals
October 2020
Reprisal information

It has subsequently been reported that, in October 2020, the Tripoli Civil Society Commission issued a circular, in application of executive order 286, requiring all civil society organizations registered in the last five years to register again or be considered illegitimate organizations and dissolved by the Commission. In the new registration process, organizations are requested to sign a pledge that they will not enter into communication with any embassy or international entity without prior authorization from executive authorities, which was reinforced in December 2020

Types of reprisals suffered
  • Administrative reprisal
Alleged/likely perpetrators
State actors
Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
Yes
Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
No
Was the case raised by a State at the UN?
No
Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
No
Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
No
Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
No
How many times has the case been followed up in subsequent SG reports?
1
In which SG report was this case followed up on? 0
2023
Follow up information provided in SG report 0
  1. During the reporting period, multiple UN actors122 continued to address the impact of requirements imposed on civil society organizations on their ability to engage with the United Nations in the field of human rights, which have been included in the reports of the SecretaryGeneral since 2021. 123 In October 2020, the Tripoli Civil Society Commission issued a Decree in implementation of Presidential Council decision No. 286, requiring all civil society organizations registered in the previous five years to re-register or be considered illegitimate and dissolved by the Commission.
  2. Legal measures curtailing the activities of civil society, including requiring them to report any interaction with any international actors, including the United Nations officials (S/2022/31, para. 53), continued during the reporting period.
  3. The Human Rights, Transitional Justice and Rule of Law Division (HRS) of UNSMIL reported that, on 18 July 2022, the South Benghazi primary court issued a decision temporarily suspending the Presidential Council decision No. 286. On 7 March 2023, the head of the Law Department under the Supreme Judicial Council provided a legal opinion in response to a request for clarification from the Civil Society Commission of Benghazi. The legal opinion stated that civil society organisations registered in Libya after 2011 were considered illegal.
  4. The enforcement of the Presidential Council decision No. 286 as per the interpretation of the legal opinion of 7 March 2023 reportedly led to a campaign of arrests and spread fear amongst civil society organisations in some parts of country. On 9 March 2023, the Criminal Investigation Department raided offices of community, local and international organisations in Sabha and arrested local staff without arrest warrants, reportedly on suspicion or under accusations of spying for the organizations they work for, but without presenting legalcharges. UN agencies further received reports of banks closing the accounts of civil society organizations receiving international funding, following the issuance of the legal opinion.
  5. On 13 March, the Government of National Unity announced its support to the legal opinion in Circular no. 5803 issued by the Director of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Prime Minister’s Office. The Circular affirmed the illegality of civil society organizations that were not established in accordance with Law Nr. (19) of 2001 on the reorganization of civil associations. Reportedly, on 6 April 2023, a coalition of 22 civil society organizations signed a statement denouncing the legal opinion.
Followup Trends 0
Deterioration/further reprisals
Did the government respond? 0
No