Statement on the Libyan Center for Archives and Historical Studies

Human Rights Solidarity (HRS) denounces the threats to evict the Libyan Center for Archives and Historical Studies (the Center) from its premises in Tripoli and calls on the Government of National Accord (GNA) to put an immediate end to this threat.

The Center is Libya’s safe of Libya’s National Archive[1], its collective memory. Most recent report by the Center in 2020, there were over 27 million documents[2], including historical documents from the Karamanli dynasty, Othoman rule and Italian colonization. UNESCO has recognized the Libyan Center for Archives and Historical Studies among the institutions of human heritage that must be preserved and not compromised[3]. The Center is ranked third in the Arab world in terms of collecting documentary scientific material, the date of creation, and its work projects to preserve the national history[4].

In October 2010, a court in Tripoli ruled in favour of the General Authority of Endowment (al-Awqaf). The court ruled that al-Awqaf owned the land, on which The Center is built, and set the rent value at 2,000 Libyan Dinars per month. However, in February 2017, the al-Awqaf changed the rent to 96,000 Libyan Dinars per month after it obtained an administrative seizure order in December 2016. The Center, with its bank accounts frozen, it could not pay the salaries of its employees and carry out its work[5], which threatened documents and archives with damage and loss.

The head of the Center, Dr.  Mohamed al-Jarrari, revealed in a statement[6], that al-Awqaf has stirred the issue again. According to al-Jarrari’s statement, al-Awqaf sent on 4 January 2021, a notice to the Center, giving them three days, either to pay “the overdue rents or vacate the building”. Mr. Ahmed Mahmoud, a human rights researcher at HRS, commented “the demand made by al-Awqaf is irresponsible and the administration of the General Endowments and Islamic Affairs Authority is unqualified to manage a public institution,” and added, explaining, “the demand to evacuate the Center with over 27 million documents, without arranging a new headquarters for it, a decision like this can only be issued by a party that is completely ignorant of the nature of the work of the center, the size of the archives and their historical value, or does not care about the fate of these documents and does not value them”.

The United Nations Culture and Science Organization (UNESCO) has recognized the Center as an institution of human heritage institutions, which must be preserved and protected[7]. Thus, any attack on the Center or any act that may jeopardize the archives and damage them amounts to an attack on human heritage, which is considered in international humanitarian law a war crime, whether committed in international or non-international disputes[8].

Therefore, HRS calls on the Government of National Accord to assume its responsibility and work to preserve the Libyan Center for Archives and Historical Studies from being lost or tampered with, and also calls on it to investigate the actions of the Endowment and Islamic Affairs Authority against the center.

Human Rights Solidarity

Tripoli – Libya

[1] The General People’s Committee (Cabinet) issued a decree on August 17, 1977, to establish the Center in Tripoli under the name of the “Center of Research and Studies of Libyan Jihad,” and in 1980 the name changed to “The Libyan Jihad Center for Historical Studies”.

On May 13, 2009, the General People’s Committee (Cabinet) issued Decision 207, which stipulates that the Libyan Center for Archives and Historical Studies shall collect, preserve, index, and protect documents and manuscripts of historical importance that constitute the state’s public archive. On 7/2/2010, General People’s Committee Resolution No. 218 was issued, which stipulated the compilation and preservation of manuscripts and documents, their classification and indexing, and the compilation and traceability of the origins or copies of documents created by public entities. On March 29, 2012, the National Transitional Council issued Law No. 24/2012, giving Libya, for the first time in its history, an integrated law for the Libyan archives, manuscripts, and studies under the name ” the Libyan Center for Archives and Historical Studies”. The official website of the Libyan Center for Archives and Historical Studies (link).

[2] The exact number is 27’385’811 documents.

[3] Post on Libyan Extracts (Facebook): “The Endowments Authority orders the National Center for Archives and Historical Studies to vacate its premises!”, January 6, 2021.

[4] Libyan Center for Archives and Historical Studies: “The head of the Libyan Center for Archives and Historical Studies meets with the Governor of the Central Bank of Libya”, March 9, 2019.

[5] Ewan Libya (News Site): “al-Awqaf threatens to evict the Libyan Center for Archives and Historical Studies from its premises”, February 12, 2017. According to the report, “In December 2016, a group from al-Awqaf (the General Authority for Endowments) surrounded the Center from outside, and Mohamed Tektik [the head of al-Awqaf at the time] entered the Center accompanied with a group of people, wearing military and police uniforms, and some in civilian clothes, and forced their way into the office of Dr. al-Jarrari, the head of the Center. They gave him the choice between paying the [inflated] rents or vacate the building and hand it over. Al-Jarrari refused, as the center contains millions of historical documents. Al-Awqaf changed its demand, either al-Jarrari signs a document acknowledging the debts owed by the Center or vacate the premises. Faced with the difficult situation, frozen assets, and the fear to lose the archives, Dr. al-Jarrari signed the document.

[6] Ibid.

[7] UNESCO: “UNESCO Declaration on the Intentional Destruction of Cultural Heritage”, October 17, 2003. VII: Individual criminal responsibility: States should take all appropriate measures, in accordance with international law, to establish their jurisdiction over persons who commit or order acts of intentional destruction of cultural heritage of great importance to humanity, and impose effective criminal penalties on them, whether or not it is listed on a list maintained by UNESCO or another international organization”.

[8] Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Article (8) “War Crimes”, (2) (b) (ix) “Intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes, historic monuments, hospitals and places where the sick and wounded are collected, provided they are not military objectives” is a war crime when committed in international armed conflict. Paragraph (2) (e) (iv) defines the same acts as a war crime when committed in conflicts not of an international character. Thus, the Statute of the International Criminal Court criminalizes any attack on cultural property, in all international and non-international armed conflicts alike.