By Libya Herald staff.
Tripoli, 12 May 2015:
The United Nations’ Human Rights Council is . . .[restrict]tomorrow holding a Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on Libya’s human rights record,
The review, which is taking place in Geneva, will scrutinise Libya’s track record in rebuilding state institutions and the establishment of rule of law. It will examine threats against the judiciary, media, police and human rights defenders, as well as the treatment and protection of internally displaced people and migrants and the problems related to detention centres.
It will draw on a national report provided by the Libyan government and the findings of independent human rights groups and experts.
Three member states will serve as rapporteurs during Libya’s UPR. They are El Salvador, the Maldives and South Africa.
Since its establishment in 2006, the council evaluated 48 countries each year. In the last nine years every member state has been reviewed and the process is now working through for a second time
Libya’s first UPR was in November 2010, when the rapporteurs were Argentina, Norway and Senegal. The findings published in 2011 included the following on the media in Qaddafi’s regime:
“Concerning the arrest of the journalists, all those who had published news that was untrue had been released. Investigations would be conducted.
87. In response to questions regarding restrictions on freedom of expression, opinion and the press, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya reaffirmed that any citizen could freely express his or her views. The country had many independent newspapers that had criticized the Administration, and there were other privately owned media. A draft law on this issue was under way but had not yet been enacted, and the 1972 press law would soon be amended to resolve the pending issues”.
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