UN mission condemns bombings in Libya, calls for accountability, dialogue

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has strongly condemned the rising violence in eastern and western Libya, including the bombings this morning in Tripoli of the embassies of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the ongoing fighting in the city of Benghazi and in Jabal Nafusa, reminding all parties to respect international law.

In a press release today, UNSMIL said it equally condemned the bombings earlier in the week in Tobruk, Al-Baida and Shahat, in addition to the continuing fighting in the towns of Kikla, al-Qala’a and Zintan, and attacks earlier on other diplomatic missions.

“The Mission is gravely concerned about reports of indiscriminate ground and aerial attacks on crowded residential areas in Benghazi; unlawful killings; the deliberate destruction of houses and other property; abduction of civilians including medical personnel; and the obstruction of efforts to evacuate the wounded and distribute humanitarian aid,” UNSMIL said.

UNSMIL also said it is greatly concerned about reports of the beheading of three activists in the city of Derna and a captured fighter in eastern Libya, as well as the “systematic targeting” of human rights activists, members of the judiciary and the security institutions, and the removal by the Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries to an unknown destination of inmates held in Buhdeima military prison in Benghazi believed to number more than 130.

The fighting in Jabal Nafusa has been raging for weeks, claiming many lives, forcing civilians to flee their homes and creating a humanitarian crisis despite repeated appeals for an end to the fighting, UNSMIL noted.

“UNSMIL warns against continued violence in all its forms, including the abduction of civilians across the country, and the violations of international human rights and humanitarian law by all sides accompanying the fighting,” the Mission said.

It also called on all parties to “immediately cease hostilities and reject the violence, and to respect international law,” including by ensuring the protection of civilians and prisoners, and opening safe passages to allow the distribution of humanitarian aid and the evacuation of the wounded.

Reminding all parties that they are “morally responsible and criminally liable under national and international law,” UNSMIL said those responsible could also be subject to sanctions under Security Council resolution 2174 (2014).

“Violence cannot be the solution and political dialogue is the only way to resolve differences,” UNSMIL stressed.

In a press statement issued later in the day, the Security Council also condemned, “in the strongest terms,” the bomb attacks against the embassies.

In its statement, the Security Council condemned all acts of violence against diplomatic premises, which it said “endanger innocent lives and seriously impede the normal work of diplomatic representatives and officials.”

Reaffirming that terrorism constitutes “one of the most serious threats to peace and security and that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivations, whenever and by whomsoever committed,” the Council underlined the need to bring the perpetrators of the acts to justice.

The Council also reaffirmed the need to combat by all means – in accordance with the UN Charter and all obligations under international law – threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.

In addition, the Council recalled the fundamental principle of the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises. It also noted the obligations on host Governments – including under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations – to take “all appropriate steps to protect diplomatic and consular premises against any intrusion or damage, and to prevent any disturbance of the peace of these missions or impairment of their dignity, and to prevent any attack on diplomatic agents and consular officers.”