[JURIST] The new ruling regime in Libya vowed to investigate allegations of human rights abuses Wednesday after the World Bank [official website] recognized the newly formed National Transitional Council (NTC) [website] as the official government. The NTC was responding [AFP report] to an Amnesty International [advocacy website] report published Tuesday [JURIST report] alleging that both sides of the Libya conflict [JURIST backgrounder] are responsible for human rights abuses and warning the NTC to act quickly to investigate these allegations. On Tuesday the World Bank said it would engage the NTC as the official Libya government [press release] and is helping to rebuild the economy and infrastructure of the nation:

As Libya begins its recovery from conflict, the World Bank has been asked to lead the effort in the areas of public expenditure and financial management, infrastructure repair, job creation for young people and service delivery. The World Bank joins the United Nations and the European Union as one of the three institutions invited by Libya’s [NTC] to coordinate assistance for the north African nation as it forges a path forward after months of violent conflict.

The World Bank has been asked to help restore water, energy and transportation services and, in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund [official website], help repair the national budget and the banking sector.

The NTC assured world leaders last week that Libya will be a society of tolerance and respect [JURIST report] for the rule of law. During a meeting [BBC report] in Paris chaired by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, NTC leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil [BBC profiles] vowed to administer elections and draft a new constitution for Libya within 18 months. However, allegations of war crimes and human rights violations have been widespread during the Libya conflict. On Sunday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon [official profile] sent a letter [text, PDF] to the UN Security Council (UNSC) [official website] seeking the formation of a mission to provide assistance [JURIST report] to the new post-conflict authorities in Libya. Last month, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) [advocacy website] reported [text, PDF] Libyan troops used children as human shields [JURIST report] to deter attacks by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) [official website]. Also last month, Libyan Prime Minister Al Baghdad Ali Al-Mahmoudi requested that the UN create a “high-level commission” to investigate alleged human rights abuses [JURIST report] by NATO. In June, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) [official website] decided to extend a mandate to an investigative panel instructing it to continue its investigation of human rights abuses in Libya, after it published a 92-page report [JURIST reports] claiming authorities committed multiple crimes against humanity.

See JURIST’s Feature on the Libya conflict for more.