Libya's Human Rights Record in Spotlight
U.N. Commission Needs Membership Criteria

(Geneva, January 17, 2003) - The likely election of Libya to a key
United Nations post on Monday will put a spotlight on its human rights
record and on efforts by abusive governments to undermine the
international human rights system, Human Rights Watch said today.

Libya looks certain to be elected chairman of the U.N. Commission on
Human Rights, the world's top human rights forum whose annual six-week
session will take place in Geneva in March and April. The Africa
regional group has nominated Libya to chair the commission on a
rotational basis. Some governments, including the United States, have
opposed Libya's nomination and may call for a vote to signal their
indignation, but no alternative candidate is likely to emerge by January
20, when the commission holds its preparatory meeting in Geneva.

The commission, which "names and shames" abusive governments, has grown
more timid in recent years as countries with poor human rights records
have vied to become members so they can block their own censure.

"Libya's election poses a real test for the commission," said Joanna
Weschler, U.N. representative of Human Rights Watch. "Repressive
governments must not be allowed to hijack the U.N. human rights system."

Weschler urged that countries seeking election to the commission should
meet the following minimum criteria:

* ratify the main human rights treaties,
* fulfill obligations to provide reports on their compliance with
conventions already ratified,
* issue a standing invitation to U.N. investigators, and
* not have been condemned by the commission in the recent past.

"No country has a perfect human rights record," said Weschler, "but
every member should at least show a real commitment to cooperating with
United Nations on human rights."

Over the past three decades, Libya's human rights record has been
appalling. It has included the abduction, forced disappearance or
assassination of political opponents; torture and mistreatment of
detainees; and long-term detention without charge or trial or after
grossly unfair trials. Today hundreds of people remain arbitrarily
detained, some for over a decade, and there are serious concerns about
treatment in detention and the fairness of procedures in several
on-going high profile trials before the Peoples' Courts. Libya has been
a closed country for United Nations and non-governmental human rights
investigators.

Since its nomination by the African Union, Libya has indicated that it
would invite U.N. investigators and international human rights groups to
visit Libya. It has declared its intention to review the role of the
grossly unfair Peoples' Courts, with a view to abolishing them, and
announced several amnesties for prisoners.

While welcoming those initiatives as important indicators of Libya's
intentions, Human Rights Watch called on Libya to formally issue a
standing invitation to all the U.N. human rights monitoring bodies,
following in the footsteps of forty member states that have done so
already, and to promptly submit its outstanding reports to the U.N.
treaty bodies.

"The Libyans have made some positive commitments in their election bid,
but these should be put into practice before they take over the
chairmanship," Weschler said.

Critical issues at this year's session will include the impact of the
war against terrorism on human rights and the continuing grave human
rights situations in Chechnya, China, Israel and the Occupied
Territories, and Iran.

More Human Rights Watch analysis of this issue is available at:
http://www.hrw.org/mideast/libya.php