Libya

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions 1970/2011 of 26 February 2011 and 1973/2011 of  17 March 2011,

- having regard to the suspension on 22 February 2011 of the negotiations on an EU-Libya Framework Agreement,

-  having regard to Foreign Affairs Council Conclusions on Libya of 18 July 2011

- having regard to the Conference of the International Contact Group Paris that took place on 1 September 2011 in Paris;

- having regard to its previous resolutions on Libya, in particular that of 10 March 2011, and its recommendation of 20 January 2011,

– having regard to the statement by the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 13 September 2011 on Libya,

– having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. Whereas the UN Security Council resolution 1973 has been adopted following the brutal repression against peaceful demonstrators, including gross and systematic human rights violations, and the failure by the Libyan regime to enforce its responsibility under international law to protect  the Libyan population; 

B. Whereas a coalition was formed made up of countries willing to implement this resolution; whereas this mandate was in a second stage taken over by NATO; whereas the NATO-led air campaign Odyssey Dawn continues as long as it is necessary to protect civilian population in Libya,

C. Whereas many countries have already recognized the Libyan Transitional National Council (NTC) and many more are about to do it;

 D. Whereas the International Contact Group met in Paris on 1 September 2011 to set out plans about the formation of the future Interim government and a roadmap to fully-fledged democratic institutions;

 E. whereas the EU lifted its asset freeze on 28 Libyan entities, including oil companies, on 1 September 2011 in order to provide resources to the interim government and the Libyan people and help the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) to immediately embark on the restoration of the state and the reconstruction of the country;

 F. whereas the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued on 27 June 2011 the arrest warrant for Colonel Gaddfi and two of his family members for alleged crimes against humanity committed since the beginning of the popular rebellion;

 G. whereas the EU has provided over 152 million Euros in humanitarian support; whereas following the Conference of the International Contact Group of the 1st of September, the HR/VP announced that the EU's strategy to Libya will be based on ensuring humanitarian aid, security for the civilian population, reform of the economic and political structure of the country;

 H. Whereas according to the UNHCR, about 1,500 Libyan refugees have died while trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe since the beginning of the Libyan crackdown;

 1. Expresses its solidarity and support to the revolution led by the Libyan people; calls on the HR/VP to develop a genuine, effective and credible common strategy for Libya and on EU Member States to implement this strategy refraining from unilateral actions or initiatives that might weaken this strategy ; urges the EU to step up humanitarian aid to respond to the new needs of the Libyan population, particularly in Tripoli and other most affected cities, including access to clean water, medicine and medical supplies;

2. Calls on the HR/VP, the Council and the Commission to further promote relations with the NTC and assist the new Libyan authorities in building a unified, democratic and pluralist Libya in which human rights, fundamental freedoms and justice will be guaranteed for all Libyans citizens as well as migrant workers and refugees; calls in particular on the EU to provide support in particular to assist the NTC in preparing for the electoral and constitutional processes, which are due to take place within the next 18 months; insists in particular to pay due attention to the involvement of women and women's organisations in the building of the new and democratic structures;

3. Notes that the TNC rejects the deployment of any international peacekeeping force once the military conflict between its forces and Gaddafi loyalists have ended; welcomes the statement made by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the need for the UN to take the lead in international efforts regarding assistance to the new Libyan government in many areas of state-building;

4. Calls on the HR/VC, the European Commission and EU Member States to provide, under the umbrella of the UN, assistance aiming at the reform of the Libyan security sector including police and armed forces as well as Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration of former combatants (DDR), including the registration of combatants' weapons and the strengthening of the control of arms trafficking in cooperation with neighbouring countries; is particularly concerned by the huge amount of weapons held by combatants and civilians that puts at risk the life of the population with regard in particular to vulnerable groups, such as women and children;

5. Calls on EU Member States to seek UNSC authorisation and release frozen Libyan assets to help the NTC to deliver the governance needed in this transitional period and expects that the NTC's commitment to ensuring that all assets will be managed on behalf of the Libyan people in an accountable and transparent manner will be respected;

6. Notes the reports indicating that Gaddafi has been surrounded by rebels in an unknown location and urges the NTC combatants to refrain from executing the dictator and his relatives and to bring them to justice; reiterates, in this regard, its firm opposition to the death penalty in all cases without exception regardless of the nature of the crime and calls on the NTC to fully cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) by sending to the court people in custody who are subject to an ICC arrest warrant, in line with Security Council resolution 1970 and NTC pledge to ICC Prosecutor's Office in April;

7. Calls on the HR/VP to provide support and assist the NTC in launching a genuine reconciliation process among all the components of the Libyan society; calls on the HR/VP to send experts and trainers on mediation and dialogue to assist the NTC and other Libyan actors

8.  Calls on all NTC forces to comply with international humanitarian laws in dealing with prisoners of war, namely the remaining pro-Gaddafi forces and mercenaries; urges the NTC to immediately free African migrant workers and black Libyans who were arbitrarily detained for being thought to be pro-Gaddafi mercenaries and bring to independent trial those who committed crimes;

9. Calls on the NTC to provide protection and assistance to the thousands of sub-Saharan African migrants who face harassment solely due to their skin colour and to ensure evacuation of the migrants still stranded at the IOM centres, notably in Sirte; calls in this respect on the HR/VP to provide the NTC with a European support in the field of mediation in order to respond to this urgent situation in accordance with human rights and humanitarian standards; calls on EU Member States to resettle refugees who are still in camps at the Tunisian and Egyptian borders having fled the conflict and for which a return to Libya would put their like at risk;

10. Calls on the National Transitional Council to commit to high standards of transparency in domestic extractive sector in order to make Libyan natural resources benefit all the population and in particular to sign up to the requirements of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in the shortest delay; is concerned about an alleged agreement between the NTC and France on the sale of 35% Libyan oil and gas;

 11. Reminds that EU Member States such as Italy, Belgium, Bulgaria, Portugal, France, Germany and the UK have been the origin of many arms exports to the regime of Gaddafi; recalls that these exports were not in compliance with most of the eight criteria of the EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports; calls in this respect on the HR/VC and Council to adopt stringent measures so that this code is fully respected by all the Member States;

 12. Welcomes the inquiry set by the UK to investigate alleged intelligence-sharing by British secret services with the Gaddafi regime; Calls on all concerned Member States to follow this example and set up independent inquiries to investigate the allegations of complicity in torture by some European secret services that might have cooperated with Gaddafi's regime in the framework of the CIA extraordinary renditions programmePARAMSG;

13. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the EEAS, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, the parliaments and governments of the Member States, the Libyan National Transitional Council, the UNSC, UNGA, the UNHRC, the Arab League and the African Union.