The United Nations mission to Libya held a training course this week aimed at improving human rights and the rule of law in the chaos-wracked country's prisons, UNSMIL said in a statement.
Eighteen senior judges, prosecutors and penitentiary police from across Libya attended the two-day training course which ended Thursday entitled 'The Application of Rule of Law Principles in Prisons: Empowerment of the Judicial Police', the statement said.
Course participants were able to exchange views and give suggestions on improving Libyan prisons and bringing them in line with international human rights and rule of law standards, said the statement.
Discussions during the course also focused on accelerating the screening of detainees and transferring full control of prisons to penitentiary police by boosting cooperation between the various branches of Libya's criminal justice system, the statement said.
“The seminar was designed to discuss practical means to address the challenges facing the criminal justice actors in the prison sector” said Antonia De Meo, Chief of UNSMIL’s Human Rights, Transitional Justice and Rule of Law Service.
“A foundation of respecting human rights and preventing impunity is key to sustainable peace, which we know Libyans want (seek) for their country,” De Meo said.
The seminar recommended that Libya's judiciary be strengthened, allowing it to fully and effectively control all prisons, and to ensure the release of prisoners who are illegally detained, UNSMIL stated.
