Middle East rights groups allege human rights violations in Libya News
Middle East rights groups allege human rights violations in Libya
Photo source or description

[JURIST] A coalition of Middle Eastern human rights organizations on Thursday accused all parties involved in the Libya conflict [JURIST backgrounder] of human rights violations [report, PDF] and crimes against humanity. Three organizations were involved in the fact-finding mission [press release] which resulted in the report: the Arab Organisation for Human Rights [advocacy website, in Arabic], the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights and the International Legal Assistance Consortium [advocacy websites]. The report alleges that all parties involved, including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) [official website], committed acts ranging from use of excessive force against protesters to cruel and inhuman treatment of prisoners during detention. The rights groups recommend that Libyan authorities launch investigations into the conduct of all parties involved in the conflict. They also urged the UN and the international community as a whole to “provide training, support and other assistance to Libyan authorities and civil society to implement the goals” of section 12 of the UN Security Council Resolution 2009 [text in PDF]. Section 12 mandates the establishment of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) dedicated to the “promotion of the rule of law; promotion and protection of human rights, particularly for those belonging to vulnerable groups; and support for transitional justice.”

Allegations of war crimes and human rights violations have been widespread during the conflict in Libya. In September the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) [official website] vowed to investigate allegations of human rights after Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] published a report [JURIST report] alleging that both sides of the Libya conflict are responsible for human rights abuses and warning the NTC to act quickly to investigate these allegations. In August, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) [advocacy website] reported [text, PDF] Libyan troops used children as human shields [JURIST report] to deter attacks by NATO. Also in August, 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.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Pope Urban II sparks First Crusade

Pope Urban II threw his support behind what would become the First Crusade on November 27, 1095 during the Council of Clairmont. The Pope urged the council's participants to render aid to the Byzantine Empire, which was being attacked by the Seljuks. Pope Urban called for a wide coalition of rich and poor to combat the threat, which eventually resulted in the conquest of much of the Muslim-controlled Levant by the Crusaders and the establishment of the Crusader States. Read Pope Urban's address.  

Catholic Code of Canon Law revised

On November 27, 1983, the revised Code of Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church went into effect. Learn more about the history of Canon Law from Professor Kenneth Pennington of the Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law.

Alfred Nobel creates Nobel Prize in his will

On November 27, 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his will, creating the Nobel Prize. Learn more about the history of the Nobel Prize and the Nobel Commission.