Concerning the meeting of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court with Khalifa Haftar

The reactions of some human rights organizations towards the meeting of Mr. Karim Khan, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (the Prosecutor) with Khalifa Haftar at Benina Airport, varied from describing the meeting as an “insult to victims and civil society activists”, to accusing the Prosecutor of politicizing the prosecutor’s office and asking the court to investigate the Prosecutor. Human Rights Solidarity Organization (HRS) finds these reactions unreasonable.

There is no disagreement regarding the responsibility of Haftar for dozens of crimes, some of which amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, committed by militias and armed groups under his command. He cannot deny his lack of knowledge of these crimes, in fact there is compelling evidence that he ordered the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ganfouda and in Derna. Many of these crimes took place in Benghazi, Derna, and Ajdabiya. Also, Haftar has provided sanctuary in Benghazi for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes committed in the West, the mass murders in Tarhuna. For the Office of the Prosecutor to investigate these crimes, it needs to reach the crimes scenes, and interview the victims, witnesses, and those suspected of involvement in these crimes.

In this context, we at HRS view the Prosecutor’s trip to Benghazi and meeting the prime responsible of the commission of dozens of crimes, as normal and the work of the office requirement of the job, just like his meetings with the officials in Tripoli, the Attorney General’s Office, and the Ministry of Justice, who are responsible for impunity. We at HRS reiterate our opinion that the reactions to the visit were unreasonable.

The meeting itself is not the issue, but what took place in the meeting and the resulting actions are the issues that concern us. Will there be progress in the investigations into the crimes of which Haftar, his commanders, and his militias are accused? Will the Prosecutor ask the UN Security Council to impose sanctions on those who refuse to cooperate with the court to enable it to conduct investigations, access crime scenes, and interview suspects? Or will the Prosecutor be content with the semi-annual briefing?

To be clear, this is not limited to Haftar and his associates, but also in Tripoli, specifically the Office of the Attorney General and the Ministry of Justice, as they are responsible for a serious dereliction of duty, which amounts to promoting impunity.

HRS issues this statement after it received enquiries from several parties, victims of grave violations and witnesses, with whom HRS has worked, and has been working, for several years. They asked HRS to clarify its position on the issue.

Human Rights Solidarity Organization

Tripoli, Libya