Libya’s House of Representatives gave the country’s Government of National Accord (GNA) a vote of no confidence on Monday. The Tripoli and western-based GNA is supported by Western powers and the UN, but the eastern-based House of Representatives voted against [WP report] endorsing the GNA from exerting its authority throughout the country. Sixty-one legislators voted against [Al Jazeera report], 39 abstained, and only one voted in favor of the GNA. Pro-GNA legislators criticized the vote because many said [Military Times report] that they were not told about the vote, and it is unclear [Reuters report] whether the GNA will continue to seek endorsement from the House of Representatives.

Libya has remained politically unstable since the 2011 deposition of Muammar Gaddafi [JURIST backgrounder] and subsequent civil war. In May, International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told [JURIST report] the UN Security Council that justice and accountability were crucial aspects of achieving and maintaining peace in the country. Also in May, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported [JURIST report] that Islamic State militants had executed 49 people in the Libyan city of Sirte since seizing control in February 2015. The UN released [JURIST report] a report in February detailing a “litany of violations and abuses” being committed by both state and non-state actors in the Libyan conflict that could amount to war crimes. In January, the internationally-recognized Libyan parliament voted [JURIST report] to reject a proposal by the then-UN-supported unity government to curb the country’s political crisis.