The New Morality Police Raise Concerns Over Human Rights in Libya
The reintroduction of the public morality protection unit would infringe on various international agreements to protect women from gender-based discrimination.
Libya’s morality police unit will be tasked with "enforcing society's traditions" by surveilling people in the street and persecuting those who break the rules.
During a press conference in Tripoli on Nov. 6, 2024, Emad Trabelsi, the acting interior minister of the UN-backed Government of National Unity, announced the reintroduction of a "Public Morality Protection Unit," set to begin operations in western Libya in December.
This police unit will be tasked with "enforcing society's traditions" by surveilling people in the street and persecuting those who break the rules. Under the guise of "guarding virtue," thisincludes compulsory veiling for women and girls aged nine years and older, forbidding women to travel without the permission of a male guardian, and prohibiting men and women from mixing in public places.The morality police will be entitled to shut down barbershops and shisha bars that don't follow the new regulations, which also target "inappropriate" hairstyles and clothing deemed too loose.
Trabelsireportedly said that "Libya is not a place for personal freedoms" and "those seeking freedom should go to Europe," sparking outcry from human rights organizations and many Libyan citizens. "As a Libyan citizen, you, as a minister, have no right to tell me to leave for Europe if I disagree with your decisions," Ahlam Bin Taboun, a Libyan civil researcher, toldDW.
Supporters of the morality police believe it will "curb moral laxity" and uphold Libya's cultural identity. At the same time, opponents argue that such measures mark a return to the oppressive system under Muammar Gaddafi before 2011.
Before Trabelsi's appointment by the Tripoli-based government, he headed the notorious Public Security Agency militia, which,according to Amnesty International, was involved in horrific crimes against refugees and migrants, including enforced disappearances and torture.
"The GNU must scrap plans for these repressive measures and instead address the human rights crisis across the country, characterized by mass arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture, and unfair trials. The GNU must uphold the rights to freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly, and take measures to combat all forms of gender-based violence and other discrimination,"saidBassam Al Kantar, Amnesty International's Libya Researcher.
The reintroduction of the Public Morality Protection unit lacks a solid legal basis and has yet to be endorsed by Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dbeibah. Libya's National Human Rights Committee has filed alegal complaint against Trabelsi with the attorney general.
“What the minister mentioned about moral decay is an insult to Libyan society, as it is unnecessary to exaggerate the issue and present it as if it were a deep crisis. This is an incitement to sedition and a threat of excessive power use, which requires a legal framework,” saidAhmed Hamza, head of the committee.- Who Should We Blame for Slavery in Libya? ›
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