Libya: ICRC Still Committed to Respond to Needs of the Population

Πηγή: allAfrica
August 15 2012

INTERVIEW

Following repeated attacks against its premises in Benghazi and Misrata, the ICRC is temporarily suspending its activities in the east and centre of the country. The ICRC's incoming head of delegation, Ishfaq Muhamad Khan, explains how the organization is responding to the situation.

Why is the ICRC suspending its activities in Benghazi and Misrata?

After five security incidents targeting our offices and staff in the two cities in less than three months, we had no other option but to temporarily suspend our activities in the east and centre of Libya. The most recent attack, early on 5 August in Misrata, was particularly appalling: our residence was directly and repeatedly hit with heavy weapons by an unknown group. The security of our staff is a priority for us.

We regret that we had to take this decision, especially as this means that we will not be able to respond to the humanitarian needs of the Libyan population in those areas for a certain period of time.

Do you know who has been targeting you?

A group claimed responsibility for two attacks in Benghazi, the first of which occurred on 22 May when a rocket-propelled grenade was launched against our office building. However, we have no information about the other three incidents.

We do not want to speculate or draw hasty conclusions. The authorities are aware of and concerned by the situation and are conducting their investigations. Also, the ICRC is not the only entity being affected by a recent deterioration of the security situation in Libya. In such a complex situation, it might be a combination of factors that have led to these incidents.

It is important for us to understand why this happened in order to be able to take whatever measures are necessary for us to be accepted by all.

Why does the ICRC appear to have become a target?

In recent months, there has apparently been a flare-up of misunderstandings and mistrust. "Foreign organizations" are being eyed with a certain degree of suspicion. We know that some in the country don't see the difference between the ICRC and what they perceive to be "Western agencies"; they may be suspicious about us. The ICRC's presence is still new, and despite a broad and highly visible humanitarian response during the conflict, several months down the road some people may have forgotten what we have done or they may wonder what we are still doing in the country.

In addition, there tends to be a misperception about what the ICRC logo represents. As it features a cross, the ICRC is sometimes wrongly seen as a Christian organization. We need to explain that the emblems of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement have no religious significance. As an example, in Indonesia, the biggest Muslim country in the world, there is a Red Cross Society rather than a Red Crescent Society. One of the main purposes of these emblems is to clearly identify humanitarian staff, buildings and vehicles and therefore to protect them. In Afghanistan, Palestine and in many other conflict zones where we have had a long presence, our red cross emblem is well recognized by the population and the numerous armed groups, and it helps us to move around and to enter dangerous or sensitive areas. In Libya, for the time being, this is not the case.

At the end of May, the "Brigades of the Captive Sheikh Omar Abdulrahman in Libya" accused the ICRC of carrying out proselytizing activities in the country and, more concretely, of distributing Bibles to internally displaced Tawargha people in Benghazi. How do you respond to these accusations?

We firmly deny them. The ICRC is not involved in any kind of political or religious activities, neither in Libya nor in any other country in the world. The ICRC is a neutral and impartial organization with an exclusively humanitarian role. We do our utmost to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence and to provide them with assistance, no matter who they may be. How could we achieve such humanitarian goals if we were taking sides?

The ICRC is totally distinct and independent from the United Nations and any State or faith-based organization. It employs people of many nationalities and religions and works in more than 80 countries all over the world. Most of our operations currently take place in predominantly Muslim countries, many of them in the Arab world, because that is where the need for humanitarian aid is currently greatest. In Libya, we now have 130 national and 50 expatriate staff.

It is clear that needs were immense during the conflict, but why is the ICRC still in the country now?

Many humanitarian consequences persist long after an armed conflict comes to an end. In Libya, let's think about the thousands of people who went missing, about the people who have been displaced, the sizeable number of migrants and vulnerable minorities, as well as the thousands of people detained in connection with the conflict. In addition, violent clashes still occur in the country, sometimes causing numerous casualties.

The ICRC is present and active in Libya with the full consent of the country's authorities. A memorandum of understanding was signed with them at the end of March 2012.

At the authorities' request, the ICRC is providing guidance, training and technical advice on how to account for missing persons. Families of missing persons have the right to know what happened to their loved ones and the ICRC seeks to ensure that their needs are addressed in a non-discriminatory way. The situation of many displaced people and migrants still requires special attention. That's why we, together with the Libyan Red Crescent, are maintaining our effort to help them. At the same time, we continue our visits to detainees in order to monitor the treatment they receive and the conditions in which they are held. Any issues that arise are discussed only between the ICRC and those in charge. After having cleared cities such as Ajdabiya, Misrata, Bani Walid and Sirte and other areas of Libya of almost 11,000 explosive remnants of war, we are now working with the Libyan Red Crescent to raise awareness of the dangers of these devices and coordinating efforts with the Libyan authorities to ensure that clearance work continues.

Unfortunately, there has been a resurgence of fighting and other violence in places such as Al Kufra, Sabha and the Nefusa mountains. Several times, the Ministry of Health or the Ministry of Defence, or the groups involved in the fighting, have asked us to help evacuate the wounded. Violence also forces people to flee their homes in search of safety, so we must maintain our ability to provide assistance for the displaced.

Last but not least, the Libyan authorities have asked the ICRC for technical guidance and support in incorporating international humanitarian law in national legislation and military regulations and training manuals. In June, we signed a memorandum of understanding on this subject with the Libyan Armed Forces, and since then we have been reviewing the army's teaching curriculum. Over the coming years we expect to provide the country's army officers with training in international humanitarian law.

What measures is the ICRC taking in response to the security threat in Libya?

Firstly, all field movements in the east and centre of the country have been suspended, while we continue to try to determine who was behind the incidents and why exactly we were targeted. However, we have not formally closed our offices in Benghazi and Misrata and we hope to be able to resume activities in those cities as soon as conditions allow. Meanwhile, activities in the west and south continue.

Secondly, being accepted and well perceived by the Libyan population, authorities and leaders and by all armed groups offers the best protection of all. In order to achieve this, we will intensify our dialogue and communication with all concerned, focusing as a matter of priority on parts of society that have or could have misperceptions about us.

It's very important that we continue all our work in Libya. Our sole objective is to alleviate the suffering of people in need. We remain fully committed to achieving that aim.

Libya east-west highway cut by armed militia

The road to Ras Lanuf in Libya.

Πηγή: The Guardian
By Chris Stephen
June 27 2012

Armed units say they will stay in place until Cyrenaica, Libya's oil-rich eastern province, is given more seats in new parliament.

The main highway linking east and west Libya has been cut by armed militia demanding changes to the rules of the country's national elections due on 7 July.

Armed units backed by vehicles mounted with anti-aircraft guns have cut the highway at Red Wadi, 40 miles from Libya's main oil refinery at Ras Lanuf.

The militia say they will stay in place until Cyrenaica, Libya's oil-rich eastern province, is given a greater distribution of seats in the new national parliament, the national congress.

The region's self-declared Barqa Council – the Arab name for Cyrenaica – is calling for a boycott of the national elections unless seats are shared equally between Libya's three provinces.

The roadblock, which government forces have not opposed, has further raised concerns over doubts over whether Libya can hold free and fair elections on schedule as violence continues in many parts of the country.

Fresh fighting has broken out in the southern town of Kufra, where battles between the indigenous Tibu people and Arab tribes earlier this year left 70 dead.

Tense ceasefires continue around the towns of Zuara and Zintan, where battles cost more than 100 lives earlier this month.

Benghazi has also been the scene of attacks blamed on jihadists, including a rocket attack on the British ambassador's convoy earlier this month.

And the explosion of an improvised explosive device outside the Tunisian consulate in Tripoli on Tuesday night has put many international organisations on edge. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has seen two of its four offices in Libya bombed this month and is reviewing security.

"There are some security incidents that affected several targets," said ICRC head of mission in Libya Georges Comminos. "We have to take certain precautions."

Opposition to Libya's ruling National Transitional Council, which is seen by critics as both secretive and dictatorial, is growing in the main former rebel towns of Benghazi, Misrata and Zintan, each of which has established its own ruling council.

"At the moment, we're protesting over our demands for an equal number of seats in the National General Conference," Brigadier General Hamid Hassi, in charge of the highway roadblock, told the English Language Libya Herald newspaper. "Libya is currently divided and the best proof of that is that Misrata has now, in effect, a separate government, and Zintan likewise."

U.S. had advance warning of abuse at Afghan prisons, officials say

Πηγή: Washington Post
By Joshua Partlow and Julie Tate

Oct 30 2011

KABUL — Across the street from U.S. military headquarters in Kabul, shrouded from view by concrete walls, the Afghan intelligence agency runs a detention facility for up to 40 terrorism suspects that is known as Department 124. So much torture took place inside, one detainee told the United Nations, that it has earned a different name: “People call it Hell.”

But long before the world body publicly revealed “systematic torture” in Afghan intelligence agency detention centers, top officials from the State Department, CIA and U.S. military received multiple warnings about abuses at Department 124 and other Afghan facilities, according to Afghan and Western officials with knowledge of the situation.

Despite the warnings, the United States continued to transfer detainees to Afghan intelligence service custody, the officials said. Even as other countries stopped handing over detainees to problematic facilities, the U.S. government did not.

U.S. Special Operations troops delivered detainees to Department 124, and CIA officials regularly visited the facility, which was rebuilt last year with American money to interrogate high-level Taliban and al-Qaeda suspects, according to Afghan and Western officials familiar with the site. Afghan intelligence officials said Americans never participated in the torture but should have known about it.

When the United Nations brought allegations of widespread detainee abuse on Aug. 30 to Gen. John Allen, the top U.S. military commander here, he took swift action ahead of the public release of the findings. Coalition troops stopped transferring detainees to Department 124 and 15 other police and intelligence agency prisons. They also hastily began a program to monitor those facilities and conduct human rights classes for interrogators.

But the prospect that U.S. officials failed to act on prior warnings raises questions about their compliance with a law, known as the Leahy Amendment, that prohibits the United States from funding units of foreign security forces when there is credible evidence they have committed human rights abuses. The State Department is now investigating whether the law applies and what funding might be affected, according to U.S. officials.

American officials denied that they had ignored credible warnings of detainee abuse and said that whenever such an allegation was raised, they took action. For instance, Gen. David H. Petraeus, the former top commander, ordered a halt to detainee transfers to Afghan intelligence and police custody in Kandahar in July.

“Any place that we’ve had a concern in the past, we’ve taken the appropriate steps, I’m confident of that, and we’re taking the appropriate steps now,” Lt. Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti, the second-ranking U.S. commander in Afghanistan, said in an interview. “I don’t see it as a systemic problem, as some have said it might be.”

White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said the United States has a “long-standing policy against transferring individuals to torture” and that “whenever allegations of human rights violations are raised with us, we move quickly to work with the host government to investigate and resolve them.”

The “CIA adheres to those same rules,” another U.S. official said. “The reality is that the system in place works.”

Confidential warnings

Even by the standards of Afghanistan’s deeply troubled justice system, Department 124 stood out. With chilling detail, the United Nations recounted detainees’ stories of interrogators hanging them by their hands for hours, beating them with metal pipes, shocking them with electricity and twisting their genitals until they passed out. Of the 28 detainees interviewed who had spent time at the facility, 26 told the United Nations that they had been tortured, according to a report released this month.

Before the U.N. investigation began in October 2010, the International Committee of the Red Cross told Afghan and U.S. officials about their concerns over detainee abuse at Department 124 and elsewhere, according to people briefed on the confidential discussions.

The conversations intensified this year, with the ICRC warning top-level officials from the U.S. Embassy, CIA and Joint Special Operations Command, among others. One person familiar with the conversations said the concerns involved the “prevalence and pervasiveness” of detainee abuse by the National Directorate of Security, or NDS, as Afghanistan’s primary intelligence service is known. When the discussions failed to produce improved treatment and conditions, the ICRC issued confidential written findings to the Afghan government outlining the extent of the problems.

One former senior U.S. Embassy official disputed these characterizations of the briefings. If there had been “serious substantive allegations of systemic institutional torture of detainees, the embassy would have acted on these,” the official said.