Libya must adopt an inclusive Constitution

ARTICLE 19 calls on the Libyan political parties in the General National Congress (GNC) to overcome their political divisions and unblock the new Constitution's drafting process which should be inclusive and ensure the protection of fundamental freedoms, including women and minority rights.

"Libyan political parties must show true political leadership by ensuring the constitutional process goes ahead through an inclusive process for both women and minorities' representatives", said Thomas Hughes, Executive Director of ARTICLE 19.

Two years after the fall of the authoritarian Gaddafi regime, Libya is facing a number of serious challenges which are hampering progress towards the building of a democratic state where rule of law, human rights and security are guaranteed. The drafting of a new constitution is a crucial step in this direction. However, power struggles between the different political factions and the increasing insecurity in the country have created an environment that has derailed GNC from the urgent task of drafting a new Constitution.

"A meaningful inclusion of women and minority representatives in the constitutional drafting process is essential for the credibility and sustainability of the Libyan constitution", continued Hughes.

WOMEN AND MINORITIES

The law on the election of a Constituent Assembly reserved only six seats for women, and two seats for each of the three ethnic minorities groups who are the Amazigh, Tawareg and Tabu. They both demanded that the law be amended in order to increase their representation and guarantee that their voices are heard in the Constituent Assembly, so that they can defend their specific rights and freedoms.

The women's bloc in the GNC abstained from the vote in protest of the unfair limitation of women's representation in parliament. Women's rights activists and the cross-party women's bloc within the GNC had been campaigning for the law to provide 15 seats for women.

Members of the GNC belonging to ethnic minorities, especially the Amazigh, Tawareg and Tabu fear that their "symbolic representation" may not be effective as the approval of the Constitutional draft is by a simple majority vote, and demand that their specific linguistic and cultural rights in the draft constitution be approved by consensus rather than by a majority vote.

Members of the GNC belonging to ethnic minorities have opposed the current constitutional process due to the low number of seats allocated to them. Resistance to these demands from the GNC pushed minority representatives to boycott the election as well as the GNC.

Women's rights activists and the women's bloc within the GNC argued that as women constitute around half the population of Libya, they should have their role in the 17 February revolution recognised by increasing their seat quota, so that they can ensure that their rights are guaranteed by the Libyan Constitution. However, despite their determined campaigning, the GNC limited their representation to six seats. In protest, the women's bloc within the GNC abstained from the vote.

"ARTICLE 19 supports the women's rights groups and members of GNC who are continuing to campaign for women's rights to be recognised and protected by the Libyan constitution", Hughes said.

In parallel to these protests from minority groups and women's rights organisations, the process of registration of candidates for the election to the Constituent Assembly has been slow in its implementation. The deadline for registration which was set for 31 October has been extended for another week due to lack of candidates.

THE ROUTE TO LYBIA'S NEW CONSTITUTION: BACKGROUND

The August 2011 Constitutional Declaration provided a process for the drafting of a permanent constitution and entrusted the GNC with the task of forming a 60-member "Constitutional Committee" within 60 days of its election.

However, on 5 July 2012, the GNC passed Constitutional Amendment No. 3 which stipulated that a 60-member Constituent Assembly should be elected by the Libyan people and would have 120 days from its first meeting to complete the drafting of a new constitution. It was only a year later, on 16 July 2013, that the GNC managed to pass a law (Law 17-2013) on the election of a Constituent Assembly. It was approved by 124 in favour out of 172 congress members present.

The law, which was passed after heated debate, contains 20 articles which outline the rules and guidelines for the election of 60 members and stipulates that candidates must:

- meet the requirements set out in the Political Isolation Law, which excludes anyone that has held a senior position during the Gaddafi era from holding office for 10 years;

- comply with Islamic Sharia Law, public order and ethics during the electoral campaign;

- abide by the prohibition from using speeches during the election campaign that could constitute an incitement or slanderer of other candidates or stir tribalism, regionalism or ethnic sentiments.

The law allocates 20 seats to each of Libya's three historic provinces: Cyrenaica, Tripolitania and Fezzan. The allocation of the same electoral quota to regions with huge population differences has also been criticised. The populations of the three provinces are vastly different-the west contains about 60% of the total population, the east contains 30%, and the south 10%-yet they have equal representation in the Constituent Assembly.

- See more at: http://www.article19.org/resources.php/resource/37344/en/libya-must-adopt-an-inclusive-constitution#sthash.hUFVrgmC.dpuf