OPPOSITION PARTIES DEMANDS FOR ELECTORAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS

Six Gambian political parties in the opposition have jointly presented

a set of 12 proposals and demands for electoral and constitutional

reforms before a new electoral cycle begins in 2016, as contained in a
press release issued on 30 June 2015.The concern political parties are the GMC, GPDP, NRP, PDOIS, PPP and UDP.
Below is the full text of the press release:

PRESS RELEASE ON THE 11TH May PROPOSAL AND DEMANDS OF THE OPPOSITION
FOR ELECTORAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM
In response to the general consensus among the opposition  and
election monitors of the need for electoral reform in the Gambia to
promote free, fair and credible elections, six opposition parties held
a series of meetings to take stock of all the constitutional, legal,
procedural and administrative challenges confronting the electoral
system and have on  11th May 2015 formulated a comprehensive set of
demands and proposals for electoral reform, aimed at ensuring the
creation of a level political architecture for holding free, fair and
genuine elections  and have forwarded them to the President of the
Republic of The Gambia, The Chairperson IEC, The Speaker of the
National Assembly, The Chief Justice, The Attorney  General and
Minister of Justice, The Secretary General ,United Nations; The
Chairman, African Union ; The High Representative For Foreign Affairs
, EU; The Chairman , ECOWAS; The Secretary of state, United States and
Reverend Jesse Jackson .
The following is a summary of the proposals and demands for electoral
and constitutional reform to enhance participatory democracy and
undiluted choice in public elections.

1. PROTECTION OF FRANCHISE
The opposition observed that section 39 of the constitution of the
Gambia guarantees the right of all Gambians, who are 18 years and
above, being resident at home or abroad, to be registered as voters
and to vote at public elections. The right of Gambians resident abroad
to be registered as voters and to vote is also statutorily granted by
Section 11 and Section 141 of the Elections Act.
Therefore the Opposition demands among other things the recognition
and observance of the right of all Gambians to be registered as voters
and to vote, irrespective of whether they are resident at home or
abroad.
It is further proposed for general registration of voters to be
conducted a year before the beginning of each electoral cycle and
supplementary registration of voters be conducted  annually during an
electoral cycle, comprising presidential, national Assembly and
council elections.
Further measures were proposed aimed at preventing fraudulent
registration through attestation,
2.            PROTECTION FROM GERRYMANDERING AND-    ENSURING EQUAL
REPRESENTATION
The opposition noted that section 50 of the Constitution makes
provision “for the establishment of a Constituency Boundaries
Commission” since 2001 which has been honoured with disregard. The
absence of such a commission had led to gross imbalance in respect to
the size of constituencies thus negating the ideal situation of having
constituencies with equal population or equal number of voters, which
alone could give effect to the principle of equal number of persons
determining equal number of representatives.
Hence Kombo North constituency, which is entitled to one National
Assembly member,  has 110,000 registered voters, which is more than
the number of voters registered  in all the three constituencies
combined  in the Banjul administrative area;  all the Constituencies
combined  in the Kerewan administrative area;  all the 6
constituencies combined  in the  Mansa Konko administrative area; all
the 11 Constituencies  combined  in the  Janjanbureh administrative
area  and  all the 7 constituencies combined in  the Basse
administrative area,  respectively.
The opposition demands the immediate enactment of the Constituency
Boundaries Commission Act and the immediate demarcation of
constituencies prior to the general registration of voters, on the
basis of the principle of equal number of inhabitants or equal number
of voters for each constituency.
It strongly  recommends  that, in the event of any constituency
boundaries delineation exercise, the demarcation proposed by The
Commission under the Chairmanship of Arch Bishop Tilewa Johnson  be
given due  consideration.

3. PROTECTION OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE INDEPENDENT ELECTORAL COMMISSION
The opposition observed that the removal from office of three
Chairpersons of the Independent Electoral Commission and other members
by the executive prior to even serving one seven-year term and the
failure to publish the appointments in the Gazette so that the courts
could take judicial notice of them, have undermined the Independence
of the Commission and the security of tenure of its members and has
also facilitated an overstay of membership beyond the limit
established by the Constitution.
The opposition demands that all appointments of commission members be
gazetted as required by law for all subsidiary legislations and those
who have served more than two seven year terms should vacate their
seats and no member of the Commission be removed for any reason
without the setting up of a tribunal comprising three judges of
superior courts to determine any allegation of misconduct or
infirmity.
It is further proposed that the membership of the Commission be
increased to seven excluding the Chairperson so that there is a
Commissioner responsible for each of the seven Administrative Areas.
In order to instill confidence in all stakeholders and guarantee the
absolute independence of the Commission, a constitutional amendment is
proposed to make it mandatory to draw members of the Commission from
TANGO,  The Gambia Bar Association, The Gambia Press Union, the Gambia
Christian Council, The Supreme Islamic Council, The Gambia Teacher’s
Union, The National Youth Council  as long as they function as non
partisan civil society segments. Appointments should be sensitive to
the principle of gender equity.

4. PROTECTION OF THE ABSOLUTE MAJORITY PRINCIPLE AND UNDILUTED CHOICE
The opposition observed that section 48 of the Constitution which was
amended was approved at a referendum in 1996 to ensure that a
President is elected by the absolute majority to guarantee undiluted
choice.
The relevant portion of the amended provision stated that
“(3) No person shall be elected as President on a first ballot unless
the votes cast in his or her favour at the election are more than
fifty per cent of the total number of votes validly cast at that
election.
.The opposition proposes the re-enactment of  this constitutional
provision  before the 2016 Presidential Elections.

5. PROTECTION FROM FRAUDULENT REGISTRATION PRACTICE
It is statutorily established and mandatory for every Gambian citizen
being 18 years or older to possess a national Identity card. We demand
that the National ID serves as the principal document to be produced
or an affidavit indicating its loss, defacing or destruction, to
determine age and citizenship for registration as a voter.  We demand
that all those who are registered using an affidavit to appear before
a revising court to show their new ID cards or have their names struck
out.
The opposition  proposes that, like the voter’s card, the ID card
should be made universally accessible, at public expense for all
Gambians 18 years or older. Cost should be involved only if
replacement is needed.
It  is further proposed for the Elections Act to make provision for
each registration team to be monitored by two registration agents
appointed by each registered political party and maintained by a fund
set up for that purpose and administered by the IEC.
It is strongly recommended that street names and compound numbers of
registered voters in cities and towns and kabilo names and compound
numbers of voters in villages be included in registers of voters to
detect and serve objections against those who have unlawfully
registered as voters.

6    NON INTERFERENCE OF PUBLIC SERVANTS AND THE DISCIPLINED FORCE IN
PARTISAN MATTERS
The opposition observes that Section 41 of the Constitution provides
“equal access to public facilities and the media by candidates at
public elections.”
Section 222 adds that “no  public servant or member of the disciplined
force should
(a) Allow his or her political inclinations to interfere with the
discharge of his or her official duties;
b) be a member of, or take part in any association of persons which
might prevent him or her from impartially discharging his or her
duties; or
(c) take part in any activities which cast doubt on his or her
capacity to deal impartially with matters or issues which are the
concern of his or her public office or which interfere with the
performance of his or her public duties. ”
The opposition further observes that the Memorandum of understanding
between parties  makes it obligatory for all parties to  “respect the
full separation of powers as detailed in the constitution.
II. Not seek in any way to unduly influence or use other arms of
government for political purposes;
III. “Refrain from using Civil Servants and public funds for campaign purposes.”
.The opposition, therefore demands that all parties refrain from using
public servants, members of the disciplined force, traditional rulers,
public facilities and public funds for campaign purposes; that the
post of  head of the civil service be divorced from cabinet post; that
no circular be issued  to public servants by departmental heads
requesting them to participate in any matter which has partisan
objectives.

7. PROTECTION OF SECRECY OF THE BALLOT
The opposition took note of the provision of  Section 40 of the
constitution which  states that, “All public elections and all
referenda voting shall be by secret ballot.”
The opposition has given reasons why the voting method where Polling
agents are required by law to sit where they would not be able to know
how a voter voted but would know that only one ballot has been cast by
listening to the sound resulting from the impact of ballot tokens on
the internal baffle plate or device in each ballot box which should
emit the same sound to avoid detection, has become anachronistic and
proposes ballot papers  to replace the marbles.

8. PROTECTION FROM THE ABUSE OF INCUMBENCY
The opposition highlighted that Section 208 of the Constitution calls
on :  “All state owned newspapers, journals, radio and television
shall afford fair opportunities and facilities in the presentation of
divergent views and dissenting opinion.”    ‘
Since all parties are required to prepare manifestoes, we demand that
all parties are periodically given access to the state media to
explain the content of their manifestoes and debate on them.
The opposition proposes the adoption of a campaign period of three
months duration to enable the voters to be well informed and create a
level ground before elections.

9.  PROTECTION AGAINST OSTRACISM OR STIGMA OR DISCRIMINATION
Relying on Section 26 of the Constitution which  states that, “Every
citizen of The Gambia of full age and capacity shall have the right,
without unreasonable restrictions-
(a)  to  take  part  in  the  conduct  of  public  affairs,  directly
or  through  freely  chosen representatives;
(b) to vote and. stand for elections at genuine periodic elections for
public office, which election shall be by universal and equal suffrage
and be held by secret ballot;”
the opposition observed that it is  reasonable restriction to bar a
child or one suffering from infirmity from standing for public
elections but would constitute unreasonable and unjustifiable
restriction to bar a Gambian from standing for public1elections who is
above the age of a child and is of sound mind and body.
.It recommends for the amendment of section 63 of the constitution so
that an upper age limit would not constitute a bar to participation as
a presidential candidate.
It is also recommended that a Gambian stationed abroad to work, study
or for any other purpose be considered to be ordinarily resident in
the Gambia.

10. The Opposition endorsed  the IEC’s recommendation to the National
Assembly for  electoral law review to exclude Attestation Forms from
the  documents  that  are  to  be  forwarded  to  the
Registration  Officers  during registration of voters” to  determine
citizenship and  the request to re-introduce the screening of
registration applicants by registering officers.
The opposition further supports the proposal to mandate the IEC to
demarcate boundaries before the setting up of a boundaries Commission
and hold Presidential and National Assembly Elections on the same day
using paper ballot as the system of voting.

11.  TWO TERM LIMITATION ON TENURE FOR THE PRESIDENCY
The opposition recommended the promulgation of a two term limit of
four or five year duration per term to enhance greater political
stability and national peace and security.

11. VACANCY IN THE OFFICE OF PRESIDENT
Running Mate or Election Within 90 days
The Opposition observes that Section 65 of the Constitution provides
for the assumption of the office of President by the Vice President
whenever the office of president becomes vacant and by the speaker if
there is no Vice president. To ensure that no person becomes president
who is not elected by the people we recommend the adoption of the
practice of having a running mate in contesting presidential
elections. In the event that a vacancy occurs after the running mate
assumes office we recommend that an  election to the office of
President be held  within 90 days after  the office of president
becomes vacant, if the remaining term is more than two years. In any
other case the Speaker of the National Assembly would assume the
office for the rest of the term.

12. THE REVITALISATION OF THE INTERPARTY COMMITTEE
The opposition proposes for the revitalisation of the Interparty
Committee to enable it to serve as a forum for dialogue and
cooperation to promote participatory democracy anchoring on the level
ground required for the holding of free, fair and genuine elections.
The opposition further proposes that the Interparty Committee be given
a statutory mandate to enable it to foster dialogue on broader
Constitutional, Legal, Institutional and Administrative reforms
touching on the mandate and operations of the  Executive, National
Assembly, The Judiciary, Regional Administration, the National Council
for Civic Education and the IEC in order  to promote good governance,
participatory democracy and genuine elections.

ISSUED ON 17TH JUNE 2015 BY :

GMC                                    GPDP
NRP

PDOIS                                   PPP
UDP

GPU calls for immediate release of Taranga FM Managing Director

The Gambia Press Union is calling for the immediate release of the manager of Teranga FM radio station, Mr Alagie Sisay, who was picked up on the night of Thursday July 2, 2015, at the premises of Teranga FM.

According to information gathered from staff and family members, two men suspected to be state security agents came for Mr Sisay shortly after breaking his fast.

A family source said: “We were sitting in the compound after Iftar. Alagie Ceesay sent someone to buy Green Tea. While we were waiting, one of his friends, Ous Sillah, came toinform him that there were two men looking for him. So, he left the compound to attend to them, but he never returned.

“Ous then followed him to enquire, but he was asked by the two men to move away, which he did. Ous later made attempt to inform family members, but it too late, as they had already left with him in a black Pajero that was parked outside the radio station.”

Four days have since passed and his whereabouts remains unknown to family and staff as well as colleagues. This is not the first time that Teranga FM has come under attack. Previous managers have on several occasions been subjected to interrogations at the NIA in relation to their work and the station itself was arbitrarily shut down three times in under five years by the state.

The family, supported by the GPU, has already lodged a complaint at the Old Yundum Police Station.

We are calling on the good office of Inspector General of Police to investigate the case of Alagie Sisay and to ensure that he reunites with his family and staff, who are missing his presence in this Holy Month of Ramadan.

The GPU is committed to the protection and promotion of press freedom and freedom of expression.

Deputies Legislate Infamous Electoral Bill

Secretary General Lamin Nyabally/ JollofNews image

 The Gambia’s rubber-stamping National Assembly this evening passed into law the infamous Electoral Amendment Bill that aims to throw out opposition from participating in elections. The controversial bill, tabled by Secretary General Lamin Nyabally, was passed by the ruling APRC deputies with slight amendments.

Due to unexplained reasons, the bill could not be presented before deputies on June 23rd and 30th. It was earlier rumoured that a split within the APRC over putting the country’s democracy on sale had led to cancellation of the bill purportedly sponsored by the Independent Electoral Commission.

The endorsed bill reduced the deposit for presidential, parliamentary and local government candidates by half. That means half a million dalasi, 50, 000 25, 000 and 10, 000 for presidential, parliamentary and local government candidates, respectively.

Another twist on the passed legislation is the question of deposit refunds. Presidential candidates who gets 40 percent of the votes will be refundedemocracyal Assembly and Mayoral candidates will be refunded provided they amass 20 percent of the valid votes cast.

The legislation that attracts anger and frustration among opposition, human rights and civil society activist maintains a portion that requires political parties to be resident in the country and allow the IEC to investigate their source of income.

Gambians are now waiting for the opposition parties’ reaction to the current development. All of them lampooned the APRC for shutting the doors to participatory democracy in a country that in the past bragged as the champion of democracy, political pluralism, the rule of law, among others.

Ends

Source.www.kaironews.com

EU: Rights Abuses at Home Drive Mediterranean Crisis

Migrants Detail Horrors That Caused Them to Flee

• What the European Union Should Do
  Sustain search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean

  Increase safe, legal channels for migrants and asylum seekers to enter the EU

  Ensure more equitable distribution of asylum seekers among EU members
  Tweet the recommendations

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  A rescue operation by the Irish Navy ship Le Eithne, participating in the Frontex mission Triton, on June 6, 2015.
  © 2015 AP Photo/Irish Defence Forces

(Brussels) – Human rights abuses in their home countries are the driving force behind the surge in boat migration in the Mediterranean to reach Europe, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.EU leaders should put human rights at the heart of its response. EU leaders will meet on June 25 and 26, 2015, to discuss European Commission proposals toward a “European Migration Agenda.”

 “The Mediterranean Migration Crisis: Why People Flee, What the EU Should Do,” documents the human rights abuses driving people to make the dangerous sea crossing and the shortcomings of EU migration and asylum policies. The report is based on over 150 interviews in May with recently-arrived migrants and asylum seekers in Italy – Lampedusa, Catania, and Milan – and Greece – the islands of Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Leros, and Kos. The conclusions are also based on extensive Human Rights Watch research in Syria, Eritrea, Afghanistan, andSomalia – the home countries of many of those arriving by sea. 

“The majority of those crossing the Mediterranean are taking terrible risks because they have to, not because they want to,” said Judith Sunderland, senior Western Europe researcher at Human Rights Watch and author of the report. “Saving lives and increasing safe pathways into Europe should be the EU’s priorities, while ensuring that all cooperation with countries of origin and transit countries respects international human rights standards.”

source. http://www.hrw.org/news

Arrest of Rwanda Intelligence Chief

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There has been significant progress in ensuring justice for the victims of the genocide in Rwanda. But thousands of victims and their relatives are still waiting for justice for crimes committed by members of the Rwandan Patriotic Front since 1994.

Daniel Bekele, Africa director

(London) – Human Rights Watch is monitoring the case of Emmanuel Karenzi Karake, head of theRwandan intelligence services, who was arrested in London on June 20, 2015, on a European arrest warrant following a request issued by a Spanish judge.

In the event that Karenzi Karake is extradited to Spain, where a Spanish court has indicted him and 39 other senior Rwandan officials for serious crimes committed in violation of international law, the Spanish authorities should ensure that due process is followed and that he receives a fair trial.

“There has been significant progress in ensuring justice for the victims of the genocide in Rwanda,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “But thousands of victims and their relatives are still waiting for justice for crimes committed by members of the Rwandan Patriotic Front since 1994.”

Karenzi Karake has been a key senior military and intelligence official in Rwanda for the last 20 years. Victims and witnesses of human rights violations have often cited his name in connection with serious crimes going back to the 1990s. In the Spanish indictment he is accused, among other things, of involvement in the 1997 murder of three Spanish aid workers.

In the years following the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, members of the Rwandan Patriotic Army killed thousands of civilians, particularly in the context of a counterinsurgency operation in the northwest of Rwanda, as well as in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Rwandan troops killed hundreds of civilians in the Congolese town ofKisangani in June 2000 when Rwandan and Ugandan troops clashed there. Karenzi Karake was a commander of the Rwandan troops.

The investigation into Karenzi Karake and other Rwandan officials in Spain was made possible because some of the victims are Spanish and in application of the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows the courts of a country to investigate and prosecute particularly grave crimes even if they are committed abroad and by foreigners.

Human Rights Watch has reviewed the 2008 Spanish indictment, which it believes has some merit, and calls for the investigations into the crimes cited therein to continue to be pursued.
xource; http://www.hrw.org/news

Amnesty Urgent Action COUP SUSPECT’S TEENAGE SON HELD INCOMMUNICADO

 Yusupha Lowe, the 16 year old son of Bai Lowe, a man accused of being involved in the 30 December 2014 attempted coup in Gambia, was arrested on 1 January. Initial reports indicated that he was being held at the National Intelligence Agency headquarters, but credible sources now indicate that he is no longer being held there. Yusupha Lowe, the 16 year old son of Bai Lowe (who is alleged to have been involved in the attempted coup of 30 December 2014 in Gambia) was arrested together with his 19-year-old uncle, Pa Alieu Lowe and his father’s exwife, Jariatou Lowe, on 1 January. They were taken from Bai Lowe’s residence at around 1:00pm by men in plain clothes claiming to be following presidential orders. A few weeks later, Jariatou Lowe was released without charge. However, Yusupha Lowe and Pa Alieu Lowe remain in incommunicado detention, without being charged and having no access to lawyers or family members. Initial reports had indicated that Yusupha Lowe was being held at the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) headquarters in Banjul, Gambia, but credible sources now indicate that he is no longer being held there. His current whereabouts remain unknown and his family is concerned about his safety. Relatives of people suspected to have been involved in the 30 December 2014 coup attempt have been subjected to reprisals by Gambian security forces. It is unclear how many people remain in incommunicado detention. Amnesty International is concerned about the unlawful detention without charge of Yusupha Lowe and other relatives of the December 2014 coup suspects, well beyond the 72 hour time limit provided in Gambia’s constitution and other human rights laws and treaties. The Gambian government has refused to acknowledge the detention of Yusupha Lowe and many others and has not provided information on their whereabouts, effectively holding them outside of the protection of the law. This amounts to enforced disappearance, a crime under international law. As their whereabouts remain unknown, they are at a high risk of torture and other abuses. Please write immediately in English or your own language:  Urging the authorities to immediately reveal the whereabouts of Yusupha Lowe and all other detainees;  Calling on the authorities to promptly charge Yusupha Lowe and all other detainees with an internationally recognizable criminal offense should there be sufficient evidence or else immediately release them;  Calling on the authorities to immediately provide all the people detained in relation to the December 2014 coup attempt access to their families and lawyers;  Urging authorities to ensure that all detainees are not subjected to torture or ill-treatment while in detention.

Libya: Civilians Trapped in Benghazi

Allow Safe Passage, Aid Access

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  Downtown area of Benghazi, Libya where forces loyal to the Libyan Army are fighting Islamist militias, April 2015.
  © 2015 Hanan Salah/Human Rights Watch

As fighting in Benghazi intensifies, all the forces involved need to take all feasible precautions to minimize harm to civilians and civilian property. It’s vitally important for the Libyan Army and militias in Benghazi to allow civilians safe passage and to facilitate access to take badly needed aid to the people inside.

Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director.

(Beirut) – The parties to the conflict in Libya should allow civilians safe passage out of neighborhoods in the eastern city of Benghazi and other areas caught up in the hostilities and permit access to deliver food and medical supplies.

Residents of Benghazi whom Human Rights Watch met on April 17, 2015, and interviewed by phone on May 21 said that Libyan families and foreign civilians were trapped in downtown Benghazi affected by fighting, including areas of El-Blad, Sidi Khreibish, and El-Sabri. They said the militants controlling these areas were not allowing civilians to leave, and conditions were increasingly dire, due to food shortages and lack of medical care and because electricity to most areas had been cut. One Sidi Khreibish resident who managed to leave said that the Libyan army would no longer allow people to leave unless through a coordinated safe passage by the Libyan Red Crescent, and that militants were barring people from leaving the areas under their control.

Another Benghazi resident who had managed to leave militia-controlled areas said at least four civilians had died since March, one from gunfire and three from untreated injuries.

“As fighting in Benghazi intensifies, all the forces involved need to take all feasible precautions to minimize harm to civilians and civilian property,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director. “It’s vitally important for the Libyan Army and militias in Benghazi to allow civilians safe passage and to facilitate access to take badly needed aid to the people inside.”

The number of people killed and injured in Benghazi has continued to rise since Human Rights Watch visited the city in April. On May 12, a shell fired into the Ard Baloun neighborhood killed three children and injured two others from the same family, according to a local news report. Militants affiliated with the extremist group Islamic State (also known as ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack. Two days later, one man and seven children died when a shell hit the Hay Al-Salam neighborhood, according to the website of Al-Jalaa hospital in Benghazi.

The Benghazi residents told Human Rights Watch that the Libyan Red Crescent Society had coordinated arrangements with forces loyal to the Libyan Army and the opposing militants to allow civilians safe passage out of the city’s neighborhoods until November 4, 2014. Since then, all further attempts by the Red Crescent to facilitate the evacuation of civilians had failed, including three attempts in February and March 2015, because either the militants disagreed or forces loyal to the army refused to agree, claiming that it would put the civilians’ lives at risk.

After such a failed attempt in March, an injured resident died after the Army refused to allow passage for a car carrying him insisting that residents could only leave the area by foot.

Abdelrazeq al-Nadhouri, the Libyan Army’s chief of staff, met with Human Rights Watch on April 18 at his headquarters in Al-Marj, 100 kilometers east of Benghazi. He contended that families who remained in the areas affected by fighting “wanted to stay there and refused to leave,” but said that the army would allow any who wished to do so to leave.

The same day, Zakaria Beltamer, the head of the Benghazi Crisis Committee, a body created by the Prime Ministry with several local council members and the Libyan Red Crescent, told Human Rights Watch in a separate meeting that the Red Crescent had made several calls for the evacuation of civilians, that all families had been evacuated from the affected parts of Benghazi neighborhoods, and that “whoever is still inside is with them,” meaning members of Ansar Al-Sharia or Islamist militants.

But Benghazi residents who spoke with Human Rights Watch, including a Red Crescent volunteer who helped coordinate evacuations, contradicted his assessment. The volunteer said that the Red Crescent had registered 58 people by phone in militia-controlled areas who wanted to leave but were unable to for fear of being attacked by the militias if they tried.

Beltamer said there has been widespread displacement of families from Benghazi since the outbreak of the violence in May 2014. He said that 15,000 families were registered with the Crisis Committee as internally displaced persons but acknowledged that many others had found shelter with relatives or had left the city altogether and had not registered. Benghazi, Libya’s second largest city – after the capital, Tripoli – had a population of 650,000 prior to the start of the conflict out of Libya’s total population of 6.4 million.

Under international humanitarian law – the laws of war – all forces engaged in armed conflict must allow civilians to safely evacuate from areas affected by fighting and give civilians “effective advance warning” of attacks that could put them at risk whenever circumstances permit. Even after armed forces have warned civilians of impending attacks, they must still take all feasible precautions to avoid causing loss of civilian life. This includes canceling an attack when it becomes apparent that the target is civilian or that the civilian loss would be disproportionate to the expected military gain.

Warnings such as those issued by the Libyan Army in November telling civilians to evacuate their neighborhoods do not absolve it of the duty to avoid attacks likely to cause indiscriminate or disproportionate loss of civilian life, Human Rights Watch said.

International humanitarian law also requires parties to a conflict to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need. Denying civilians access to food and medical care is a serious violation of international humanitarian law, and intentionally attacking personnel, installations, material, units, or vehicles involved in relief efforts is a war crime.

In the face of mounting atrocities, Human Rights Watch has called on the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open an investigation into serious ongoing violations in Libya. The ICC prosecutor has jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide committed in Libya since February 15, 2011.

During the 28th session at the Human Rights Council in March 2015, member states created a UN inquiry to investigate serious crimes in Libya since 2014. Human Rights Watch urged the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to speed up the deployment of the mission so it can exercise its mandate.

“With each day that passes, civilians who remain trapped in Benghazi neighborhoods face worsening conditions and greater peril for their lives,” Whitson said.

The Opposing Forces in Benghazi
Benghazi has been caught up in fighting since May 2014, when then-retired General Khalifa Hiftar and allied militias operating under the name “Libya Dignity” opened a military campaign against militant groups in Benghazi. The Dignity alliance in Benghazi comprises units of the Army, the Army Special Forces (Sa’eqa), and volunteer fighters. The Libyan Army is loyal to Libya’s internationally recognized government based in the eastern cities of Tobruk and Al-Bayda, and in March 2015 Hiftar was named commander of the army.

In July 2014, the militant groups Ansar Al-Sharia, Rafallah Al-Sahati, and Libya Shield Forces, some of the militant groups the army is fighting in Benghazi, formed the Benghazi Revolutionaries Shura Council (BRSC), which opposes the internationally recognized government and is allied with the rival self-declared government based in Tripoli. Members of groups that have pledged allegiance to the extremist group Islamic State (also known as ISIS) are also fighting the Libyan Army alongside the BRSC but are not in formal military alliance with the BRSC, Benghazi residents say.

Accounts by Residents
Due to the ongoing military operations and movement restrictions, Human Rights Watch was unable to enter the downtown areas of Benghazi to independently confirm the numbers or locations of trapped civilians.

A Benghazi resident whose father and brother had managed to flee the downtown area just a day before told Human Rights Watch on April 17, 2015, and in a call on May 21, that he knew of 50 to 60 houses in ‘ El Blad that remained inhabited with at least 15 to 20 families, as well as at least 15 families who remained in El-Sabri, and about 60 houses in Sidi Khreibish, 10 of which were inhabited by Libyan families and the rest by foreign families, including Syrians, Palestinians, and Asian and African nationals. The resident also said the most difficult area to assess was El-Sabri because it was controlled by groups affiliated with ISIS. He believed several dozen families were still in El-Sabri, close to the sea, but had no contact with them.

The resident said that while some young men refused to leave, most families were anxious to evacuate to less dangerous areas. “Most families thought it would be a matter of weeks before the war in their area was over, so they opted to stay and take care of their houses,” he said. “However, they are now stuck there, including women, children, and elderly.”

He said it had taken only three days for the Libyan Army to gain control of the Salmani neighborhood, leading many families to think that other areas would also be quickly cleared of BRSC and other militants.

He also said that his family had left their home in downtown Benghazi on November 3, 2014, under a safe passage that the Red Crescent had arranged, but that his father and brother had stayed to take care of the house. They left only on April 16, 2015:

They swam [through the sea, along the coast] for four hours at night and I was waiting for them when they arrived to safety. Those trapped have some dry food stocks, yet no medical treatment as the only field clinic belongs to the militant group Ansar Al-Sharia and they don’t treat sick or injured civilians. Most areas have no power and people charge their mobile phones in their cars.

He said the escape of his father’s and brother’s escape had been dangerous but was coordinated with the Libyan military, which had detained the two men for questioning on their arrival but released them after two days. The resident said that only a few other men and one family had managed to get away from the conflict area by swimming.

The resident said he knew of four civilian deaths through information obtained by relatives in the area:

• Abu Shawki, 75, a Palestinian, died in March when a bullet hit him in the head as he walked along Al-Sharif Street in Sidi Khreibish;
• Ossma Al-Greitli, 65, died in early April from injuries he sustained in February when he was hit by shrapnel in El-Gzeir Street. He had not received any medical treatment;
• An unnamed Syrian national also died in early April, two days after shrapnel hit him in the abdomen as he was leaving the Old Mosque in the downtown area. No medical care was available; and
• Ahmed al-Zlitni died in mid-March at his home in the El-Sabri neighborhood from a lack of medical treatment after he was burned in a fire caused by candles he used because of power cuts.

An unnamed Mauritanian national was found dead in front of a mosque in El-Sabri area in the first week of May. Two residents interviewed by Human Rights Watch said they believed members of ISIS affiliated militia had killed him when a group of civilians tried to leave the area which is under the militia’s control.

Another resident told Human Rights Watch on May 20 that her father was still trapped in the Sidi Khreibish neighborhood. She said that she and other family members evacuated on November 4, but that her father had stayed behind to take care of their home because he expected the army to quickly drive what the militia groups from the area.

She said that approximately 80 other families also remained in Sidi Khreibish and, like her father, existed on flour from a local bakery and tinned and dry foods obtained from supermarkets that had been shut and homes in the area. Her father and their neighbors were eating only one meal a day, she said. Power supplies to the area had been cut off four months earlier and residents had little access to phone networks and the Internet:

I am afraid for my father as things have gotten very bad. After we left in November, we repeatedly attempted to coordinate with the Red Crescent for a safe passage for him and for others to leave the area but the takfiris [Islamist militias] controlling the area refused to allow the civilians out. Right now, even the army will not let anyone out of the area as there are no guarantees from the other side [Islamist militias].

A volunteer at the Libyan Red Crescent Society, who is in charge of the evacuations of civilians from the downtown areas of Benghazi, told Human Rights Watch on May 21 the Red Crescent had only registered 28 Libyan nationals and 30 foreigners by telephone, including some women and children, who remained trapped in the downtown area. The Red Crescent has had no access to the area since November, the volunteer said. The volunteer acknowledged that many families and individuals did not register with the Red Crescent for fear of being targeted by the extremists or because they sympathized with them:

Despite assurances by the army that everyone would be allowed to exit the areas, including the injured of the other side [Islamist militia groups], many people who are inside the downtown area are afraid of the extremists. We were informed that one man who used to negotiate with them [Islamist militia groups] has now gone missing and hasn’t been heard of for five days. It has become very complicated for us, as there is no longer one person or a single group side to coordinate with. There are at least three, with Ansar Al-Sharia, The Libyan Shield Forces, and those loyal to the Islamic State, dividing the downtown area between them.

source: http://www.hrw.org/news