UNSMIL renews support for judicial independence and prison reform in Libya

A senior United Nations official has urged Libyan authorities to end arbitrary detention, investigate abuses in custody and protect the judiciary from political interference as part of broader reforms to the country’s justice system.

Ulrika Richardson, the UN’s deputy special representative and resident coordinator in Libya, said detainees must be guaranteed fair trials and protected from enforced disappearance, torture, ill-treatment and deaths in custody.

Her remarks came at the opening of the First Benghazi International Conference on Justice and Reform, where she placed prison reform, judicial independence and accountability at the centre of the UN’s priorities for Libya.

Richardson said court decisions must be enforced without external pressure and called for stronger accountability mechanisms to prevent impunity. She also stressed that Libya needs a unified judiciary capable of operating independently across the country.

According to Richardson, demands for justice, reconciliation and human rights protections have featured prominently in consultations conducted through the UN-facilitated political process.

During the conference, she held talks with Ibrahim Bou Shnaf, head of the National Committee for Monitoring Prisons and Detainees, on practical measures to improve detention conditions.

The discussions covered rehabilitation programmes, prison infrastructure and efforts to curb detention outside lawful procedures. They also addressed protections for vulnerable detainees, including women, children, migrants and people with disabilities.

The UN mission said security bodies and other responsible institutions would have a central role in implementing any reforms, provided their work remained subject to the law and respected the rights of people in custody.

Richardson said the United Nations was prepared to provide technical assistance to Libyan institutions and their international partners as they work to reform prisons, strengthen the justice system and improve human rights protections.