UN Rights Body Condemns Libya, Calls For Investigation Into Violence

All the members of the  UN Human Rights Council, including the Libyan representative, spoke out against the Gaddafi regime crackdown on protesters in a meeting in Geneva on Friday.

The council agreed on a draft resolution that would urgently create an international commission to investigate incidents of violence against civilians and possibly suspend Tripoli’s seat on the Rights Council. 

Libyan envoy Adel Shaltut called for a moment of silence in honor of those who lost their lives and emphasized the rift between Libya’s diplomats and the Gaddafi government loyalists in Tripoli. 

“We in the Libyan mission have categorically decided to serve as representatives of Libyan people and their free will. We only represent the Libyan people.” said Shaltut, whose statement was met with applause by Council members.

Advocacy group Human Rights Watch’s (HRW), an independent observer at the Council, said it greatly supported an urgent international inquiry into the violence. 

“Because Libyan authorities restrict the ability of human rights organizations and journalists to document ongoing violence, no one knows exactly how many people have died as a result of attack by Libyan security forces on protesters in the past week.” said Julie De Rivero HRW representative in Geneva, “By speaking directly to those who are receiving the dead at hospitals in Tripoli and Benghazi, Human RIghts Watch has compiled a toll of more than 300 deaths, but that number may only be a fraction of the number killed given the difficulty documenting the deaths on the ground.” 

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to travel to Geneva to address the Council on Monday.