UN Authority Figures

UN Women Executive Board: Libya

In Libya, women and girls suspected of violating moral codes are detained indefinitely...They are held in "social rehabilitation" facilities, in some cases because they have been raped. (2009 US State Department Report on Libya)

Mission of the UN Women:
"The main roles of UN Women are: To support inter-governmental bodies, such as the Commission on the Status of Women, in their formulation of policies, global standards and norms; To help Member States to implement these standards, standing ready to provide suitable technical and financial support to those countries that request it, and to forge effective partnerships with civil society; To hold the UN system accountable for its own commitments on gender equality, including regular monitoring of system-wide progress." (UN Women web-site)

Libya's Term of office: 2010-2012

Libya's Record on women's rights:
"In practice traditional attitudes and practices continued that discriminated against women. Shari'a governs inheritance, divorce, and the right to own property...Women have societal restrictions on their movement even to local destinations...Domestic abuse was rarely discussed publicly...A convicted rapist must marry the victim...Women and girls suspected of violating moral codes were detained indefinitely without being convicted or after having served a sentence and without the right to challenge their detention before a court. They were held in "social rehabilitation" facilities, in some cases because they had been raped and then ostracized by their families. The government stated that a woman was free to leave a rehabilitation home when she reached "legal age" (18 years)...Authorities transferred most women to these facilities against their will...The government routinely violated women's and girls' human rights in "social rehabilitation" homes, including violations of due process, freedom of movement, personal dignity, and privacy. One example of these violations is the practice of "virginity exams" in "social rehabilitation" facilities." (US State Department's Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2009, Libya)

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