(Transcript from SBS World News Radio)
The International Criminal Court says it believes it can investigate alleged crimes in Libya by militants of the self-declared Islamic State group.
But according to the court's Hague-based prosecutor, the responsibility first lies with individual countries to prosecute their citizens accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Santilla Chingaipe has the details.
(Click on the audio tab above to hear the full report)
The United Nations Security Council asked the International Criminal Court in 2011 to investigate serious crimes committed since the start of an uprising in Libya that year that led to the fall of leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Libya has since descended into chaos, with two competing governments backed by militias scrambling for control of the oil-producing country and creating havens for Islamist militants.
Fatou Bensouda is the ICC's chief prosecutor.
She's told the Security Council she agrees there should be accountability for alleged crimes against civilians in Libya committed by groups claiming allegiance to Islamic State.
"We are deeply concerned about the impact of this violence on Libya's civilian population and institutions. Accountability for those responsible for violations or abuses of human rights or violations of international humanitarian law is essential. I have also taken note of this Council's call for accountability for the use of violence against civilians and civilian institutions by groups purportedly claiming allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIL or Daesh.
Militants loyal to IS have claimed several high-profile attacks on foreigners in Libya this year, including the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians in February.
That attack prompted air strikes by Egypt on Islamic State targets in Libya.
Last month, a video purportedly made by the group appeared to show the beheading of some 30 Ethiopians in Libya.
Fatou Bensouda says the ICC believes it has jurisdiction to prosecute in Libya.
But she says international law requires member countries to first try to prosecute their own citizens who are suspected of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.
"My office considers that ICC jurisdiction over Libya prima facie extends to such alleged crimes. I recall however the principle that states, in the first instance, bear the primary responsibility to investigate and prosecute their nationals who have joined forces with ISIL or Daesh and are alleged to be committing Rome Statute crimes."
The ICC meanwhile still wants to try Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, for alleged war crimes.
Since his arrest in 2011, he has been held by a faction of former rebels in the Zintan region who often operate beyond the authority of the internationally-recognised Libyan government.
Fatou Bensouda says the court is determined to ensure that anyone guilty of serious crimes in Libya is able to escape justice.
"My office is actively considering the investigation and prosecution of further cases, and will not hesitate to take such action as may be needed to contribute to ending impunity in Libya, or to contribute to such action or relevant prosecutorial authorities."
Libyan UN Ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi told the Security Council that Libyan authorities are also determined to make sure that allegations against Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and others are pursued.
Mr Dabbashi says the Libyan authorities don't want to undermine the work of the ICC, but rather, to complement it through the national Libyan judicial system.
But he says it's difficult when the government he represents, based in the city of Tobruk, doesn't even control the capital, Tripoli.
"Libyan judicial authorities are determined to fulfil their commitments despite the difficult circumstances in which our judiciary organs are working, particularly the Office of the Prosecutor General and judges, given the state of insecurity. This insecurity results from the control by outlawed militias over the capital since last August and their sharing authority over civilian areas in the absence of any political authority able to issue orders to them, or to force them to respect law and human rights."
Venezuela's UN Ambassador Rafael Ramirez was among those expressing concern about the report by the ICC prosecutor.
He's called on the Libyan authorities to support the court's efforts to prosecute those responsible for serious crimes.
"We are seriously concerned about the exacerbation of the political and the security situation that persists in Libya, as referred to in the report. It clearly describes the complex situation of displaced persons, attacks against the civilian population, illegal detention, torture, disappearances, killings, ill-treatment, and obvious judicial delays. And there are some 8000 detainees who are awaiting judicial process in the country, and this shows us that violations of international humanitarian law and human rights persist in the country."
Many of the speakers at the Security Council session pointed out that one consequence of the turmoil in Libya was the large number of people fleeing by boat across the Mediterranean towards Europe - often ending in tragedies.
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