Libya Crimes Watch (LCW) is a

non-governmental A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

, non-profit human rights organisation established in 2019 at the initiative of independent

human rights activists A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...

, registered in the United Kingdom, and mainly specialised in monitoring and documenting international crimes and grave

Human Rights Violations Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...

against civilians in Libya, and aims to spread a culture of human rights and work to bring criminals to justice . The Libya Crimes Watch Organisation relies in its work on field investigative research carried out by a field monitoring team working on the ground covering various Libyan regions, as well as a wide network of sources. This research is based on investigating the facts of human rights violations, to obtain accurate information about the facts, their circumstances, the identity of the victims and the violating parties. It also documents testimonies, evidence, presumptions, records and related documents for examination and verification. The organization called on the

Government of National Unity A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nati ...

and the authorities in

eastern Libya Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika (, , after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between the 16th and 25th meridians east, including the Kufra District. The coastal region, als ...

to end all

, including

kidnapping Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

s and

enforced disappearance An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person with the support or acquiescence of a State (polity), state followed by a refusal to acknowledge the person's fate or whereabouts with the i ...

s. The LCW Organisation called on

Haftar Khalifa Haftar (; born 7 November 1943) is a Libyan-American politician, military officer, and the commander of the Tobruk-based Libyan National Army (LNA). In 2015, he was appointed commander of the armed forces loyal to the 2014 Libyan parliam ...

's forces to stop targeting residential communities, to spare civilians the armed conflict, and to abide by

international humanitarian law International humanitarian law (IHL), also referred to as the laws of armed conflict or the laws of war, is the law that regulates the conduct of war (''wikt:jus in bello, jus in bello''). It is a branch of international law that seeks to limit ...

"the rules of war", and held them legally and morally responsible for these grave

. It called on the

UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

and the

United Nations Support Mission in Libya United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

to assume their responsibilities to protect civilians in

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

, and to send a fact-finding committee to investigate war crimes and bring the perpetrators to justice. The Libya Crimes Watch Organisation monitors the human rights situation in

, and interacts with violations daily by publishing on its Facebook and Twitter platforms, as well as publishing data on the website and monthly reports summarizing the human rights violations that have been monitored and documented throughout Libya. The organization also participates in signing the Joint statements with international and local organisations with common competencies. The LCW works effectively within the Libyan platform, and is a founding member of the Libyan Anti-Torture Network and a member of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court, and SOS-Torture Network. It is also a member of the KeepItOn coalition against the internet shutdown.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Libyan_crimes_watch_organization Organizations based in Libya Human rights organizations

See also

References