Nato must pay for Libya mistakes
2012-03-19 22:08
Tripoli - Nato must investigate the killing of dozens of civilians during
its air campaign in Libya last year and provide reparations to the people
affected, Amnesty International said on Monday.
"Adequate investigations must be carried out and full reparation
provided to victims and their families," said the rights group in a
statement released one year after the first strike sorties were carried out by
the alliance in Libya.
Amnesty's call drew a rebuttal from Nato, whose spokesperson Oana Lungescu
insisted in a statement that the coalition conducted a campaign in line with
its UN mandate and international norms.
The watchdog said it has documented 55 cases of named civilians, including
16 children and 14 women, killed in air strikes in the capital Tripoli and the
towns of Zliten, Majer, Sirte and Brega.
Nato attacks, which played a key role in helping rebels to bring down
dictator Muammar Gaddafi, left a deep rift in the UN Security Council.
Russia, China, South Africa and India all say Nato's tactics breached UN
resolutions. The United States, Britain, France and Germany insist their
actions were legal and life-saving.
Amnesty International acknowledged that "significant efforts" were
made by Nato to avoid civilian casualties, but faulted its failure to
investigate strikes that killed innocent people.
"Victims and relatives of those killed by Nato air strikes remain in
the dark about what happened and who was responsible," said Donatella
Rovera, senior crisis response adviser at Amnesty.
The rights group urged Nato to carry out investigations to determine whether
civilian casualties stemmed from a breach of international law, and if so to
bring those responsible to justice.
Private homes
"Many of the deaths occurred as a result of air strikes on private
homes," where there was no evidence to indicate that the homes had been
used for military purposes at the time of the attack, it said.
The Nato spokesperson said the coalition responded to Amnesty earlier this
month and insisted that the operation "was conducted in a manner fully
consistent with the United Nations mandate and with international humanitarian
law".
"We carried out our operations with utmost care and precision, as
recognised by the International Commission of Inquiry on Libya," the spokesperson
said.
The commission concluded that Nato "'conducted a highly precise
campaign with a demonstrable determination to avoid civilian casualties',"
the spokesperson said.
"The Commission found no violations of international law on the part of
Nato," Lungescu added.
"Nato has looked into each credible allegation of harm to civilians
which has been brought to our attention and will continue to do so," she
said in a statement released in Brussels.
But concerning the specific Amnesty call for an investigation, Lungescu
added that the coalition "did not have observers on the ground" in
Libya during the conflict.
Furthermore she said Tripoli authorities should be the ones to address
issues related to compensation.
- SAPA
