The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said it had held, in coordination with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, a workshop that brought together 22 legislators, legal experts and civil society actors to work on draft reconciliation legislation for the country.
During the two-day workshop in Tunis in late April, participants combined two draft legislations that had been separately developed – one by a legal committee formed by the Presidential Council as part of its mandate and one prepared by the House of Representatives.
“The group, which included representatives from both of these bodies as well as the High Council of State and the Constitutional Drafting Assembly, went through the unified draft law line by line, discussing contentious points and proposing solutions, while ensuring the law reflects international best practices in transitional justice and reconciliation.” UNSMIL explained in a statement.
UNSMIL added that the participants discussed the role of amnesties and the importance of memorialization in Libya’s reconciliation process, and whether a reparations programme should target individuals or the collective.
They also considered the type of violations that the law will cover and the selection mechanism for members of a future truth and justice reconciliation commission.
UNSMIL said that participants had agreed by the end of the workshop on a single comprehensive draft law, which would be submitted to the House of Representatives’ Justice and Reconciliation Committee before going to the House of Representatives for a plenary vote.
