Some 20,000 combatants are invited by the international community to leave the country. However, they will have to answer for their crimes before specialized courts.
After a decade of civil war, there seems to be hoped that Libya will progress towards peace. In the line of sight after the signing, in October 2020, of a truce by the main protagonists, the organization of democratic elections before the end of the year 2021. However, there remains a major challenge to be taken up in this conflict influenced by the international context: put an end to foreign interference.
Not enough departures
This requires the withdrawal of mercenaries and foreign troops from Libya, as provided for in the ceasefire negotiated under the aegis of the United Nations, and as required by the Security Council.
In addition to financial and military assistance from their allies, the rival governments of Fayez al-Sarraj [Government of national unity, GNA] and Khalifa Haftar (government of Toubrouk, said of the House of Representatives elected in 2014) rely on militias and groups of foreign fighters, including mercenaries. The United Nations estimates their number at 20,000. They come mainly from Russia, Turkey, Syria, Chad, and Sudan.
Their presence is not official but it is confirmed by several media and experts from various countries. If the Syrian fighters are starting to leave, according to French diplomatic sources, the UN considers the announced withdrawals all the more insufficient as Turkey has sent 380 additional mercenaries in recent weeks.
Various objectives and statuses
The issue of the departure of foreign fighters is complex. How many are there exactly? Are they all mercenaries? How and to which destinations to send them back? What does international law provide for them?
The major problem posed by the UN request stems from the multiplicity of combatant statuses and the legal implications that may result from them. We thus find real mercenaries meeting the criteria defined by “the International Convention against the recruitment, use, financing and training of mercenaries”, adopted in 1989 by the UN to penalize mercenaries. They are there only to accomplish the mission for which they are paid and do not care about the goals of those who buy their services or those of their adversaries.
There are also these jihadist groups whose commitment is not dictated by the lure of profit alone, but also by ideological motivations and by adherence to the political aims of the party for which they are fighting. These groups are not covered by laws concerning mercenaries but by-laws relating to the fight against terrorism, of which there is not a legal definition accepted by everyone. In addition, these laws are not applied in the same way by all states to all those who commit terrorist acts.
Fair trials
The other big question concerns the fate of these “mercenaries” and “foreign fighters” called to leave Libya. If it is up to the States which brought them there to recover them, will they be prosecuted for the crimes they have committed? Isn’t this a way of shielding them from justice while awaiting their eventual dispatch to other battlefields?
If they are returned to their countries of origin, are there guarantees that they will be tried for their crimes and how can we be sure that they will not be called upon to perform the same type of criminal “missions” elsewhere?
If it is legitimate on the part of the Libyan authorities to put an end to the presence of these fighters in the country, would it not be fairer to hand them over to international courts or, failing that, to the justice of the country where they are? have committed their crimes, by demanding fair trial conditions guaranteeing them humane treatment respecting their rights, and ensuring that they will not be routed to other fronts? There is ultimate all the stake.
