The Foundational Declaration of the Association of Victims of NATO and the War on Libya
===============================
We are the citizens of Libya who have been afflicted by the woes of the ferocious war witnessed by our country since 2011. This war caused countless woes; it is difficult to measure its dimensions, repercussions and impacts on the present and future. It caused damage to the souls apart from bodies; it grieved hearts and brought out sadness and misery; it caused the people to witness massacres; it brought out heaviness of heart and rained the country with shells and deadly missiles. It destroyed the country, brought about death and claimed lives in every inch of the territories of the country. It divided families whose members have become either dead, absent, displaced, or missing. It is a war that erupted in a world that is governed by the laws of jungle where the weak is crushed and his voice is not heard or he is not allowed even to speak.
In spite of all what is said about the laws of human rights and international justice, those who suffer from injustice lost hope in the efficacy of such laws because they are just promises that are never fulfilled.
Within the framework of the incessant endeavors aiming at building a state of institutions and maintaining the sovereignty of a country that we want to be free from confusion, loss, violations of human rights, a country whose citizens and their guests may live safe, a country where those who were afflicted by the war would not feel that they are crushed by the war machine without finding any support or help,
We pledged, as we are part of the victims of the war taking place in Libya, to put an end to seditions, grudges that lead to hatred and sow the culture of resorting to the rule of law instead, and turning the slogans related to human rights into mechanisms that are applied to all without discrimination, bias or consideration of political affiliations or submission to anyone’s will.
Out of our belief in the responsibility of consolidation of the International Humanitarian Law and the international Human Rights Law, and being aware of the importance of the role of the Civil Society Organizations in establishing the collective work values related to human rights in general, and rights during times of armed conflicts in particular, and the necessity of the implementation of a holistic approach focusing on the victims of the armed conflict witnessed by Libya, and the appalling conditions that the citizen and residents suffered from, and in view of the multiple forces that were keen to inflict harm on the country, and the political stalemate that wasted the rights of the victims and their families and helped the perpetrators of crimes to evade punishment, and prevented the occurrence of a national cohesion that would push away the imminent threat that endangers the unity of the country and inflicts harm on its citizens,
We declare
Forming the Association of the Victims of NATO and War on Libya, an NGO defending human rights, in general, and the Libyan citizen human rights, in particular, and supporting the rights of the families that sustained damage from the war on Libya on 2011 through enlightening the international and regional community of what happened in Libya with the aim of recognizing the right of those victims to redress and supporting their lawful struggle to pursue war criminals wherever they are.
Not allowing any perpetrators of war crimes or crimes against humanity to flee from punishment whether they are natural or legal persons in order to establish rights and justice for all according to international agreements and conventions which are based on the international agreements and declarations, normative and legal agreements, heavenly legislations, values and principles and the traditions of civilized nations and peoples.
The activities of the Association shall be complementary with the activities and roles of human rights networks worldwide that seek to enhance human rights and make citizens avoid humiliation, oppression, and persecution.
With this declaration we appeal to conscientious individuals, organizations and countries, especially the UN and its specialized agencies, the international Court of Justice (ICJ), the European Court For Human Right (ECHR), the African Court of Justice, the Arab League, and the African Union to set up a more effective strategy for confronting and punishing the countries and individuals supporting terrorism, as per the principles of justice and international law. Anyone who has conscience would surely see what happened in Libya as war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated by countries that were involved directly in shedding the blood of Libyans or indirectly through instigation and multifaceted support of such actions or by terrorist and fundamentalist groups that left no war crime or a crime against humanity without committing it under the very sight and hearing of the whole world community that turned a blind eye to the countries participating in the war or supporting it publicly or from behind the scene. This support aggravated the tragedy of our people and led to the fall of more victims and more injuries in addition to the spread of the crimes of kidnapping, enforced disappearance, immoral actions which contradict human values and violate the international laws on top of which comes the International Humanitarian Law and the international anti-terrorism laws.
We are driven by our hope, ambitions and aspirations while we are looking forward with optimism to the awakening of the Arab and international conscience that would fly into rage at those who murdered, ruined, and displaced people to persecute them according to the Hague Convention of 1907, and Versailles Convention, particularly article no. 277 that established the individual criminal responsibility and article no 7 of Nurnberg Court Statute of 1945, article no . 6 of Tokyo Court Statute, the Four Geneva Conventions especially article no. 47 of the First Geneva Convention in addition to the first additional protocol attached to Geneva Conventions of 1977, especially articles 43,50, and 7 of the statute of the Criminal Court of Yugoslavia and article 6 of the statute of the International Criminal Court on Rwanda and the acquisition by the victims of their civil and criminal rights.
We are working on:
First: Contributing to building a society that is free from oppression, suppression, and persecution
Second: Persecuting those who committed war crimes and crimes against humanity against the citizens of Libya or residents in Libya according to the provisions of the Hague Conventions of 1907 and the Four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their attached protocols of 1977 and the statutes of the International Criminal Court in addition to the UN Charter and the human rights agreements and charters of relevant regional organizations.
Third: Contributing to helping those who were afflicted by the war on Libya or its victims for obtaining their civil and criminal rights
Fourth: Disseminating and spreading the culture of human rights and the international Humanitarian law.
Fifth: Networking and establishing local, regional and international alliances for boosting the right of victims to redress
Sixth: Forming a database for the victims of NATO and war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against Libyans
Seventh: Establishing a legal center specialized in defending the rights of the victims of NATO and the war on Libya to obtain redress with an air of professionalism.
May Allah make us successful and provide us with His support
The Founding Committee of the Association of the Victims of NATO and War on Libya
***