For the final episode of the season, hosts Elham and Marwa welcome Dr. Noha Aboueldahab to Libya Matters to explore the role of the Libyan diaspora and what diasporas can offer to justice in their home country.  Dr. Noha Aboueldahab is a Non-Resident Fellow in the Foreign Policy programme at the Brookings Institution, Assistant Professor at Georgetown University in Qatar, and Senior Non-Resident Fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs . She is an award-winning specialist in...

What is the goal of reparations and why do they matter? When should they be delivered and who should benefit? In this episode, hosts Elham and Juergen are joined by Professor Phil Clark to grapple with the topic of reparations for grave human rights violations and mass atrocity. Phil Clark is a Professor of International Politics at SOAS University of London and an acclaimed author. He specialises in conflict and post-conflict issues, including transitional justice, peacebuilding and...

Hosts Marwa and Mae, together with Lord Alf Dubs, discuss access to truth, justice and accountability for refugees and migrants that have suffered gross human rights violations in Libya. They look at current avenues for protection and accountability, as well as how to effectively build migrants and refugees into future transitional justice mechanisms.   Lord Dubs is a British Labour politician and former Member of Parliament. He arrived in the UK as a refugee in 1939 and has served a long...

Why are Special Courts needed, and do they help achieve justice? Could Libya benefit from a Special Court? How can a Special Court be compatible with other international mechanisms? To unravel all this, hosts Elham and Marwa talk to prominent American lawyer and former US Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues, Stephen Rapp. Stephen Rapp has over twenty years of experience in the field of international justice and accountability and he served as the Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court...

In this episode, hosts Elham and Mae are joined by Gissou Nia to discuss peoples’ tribunals as an alternative to more conventional criminal accountability mechanisms. Together they explore what a peoples’ tribunal might look like in the context of Libya. Gissou Nia is a human rights lawyer and the director of the Strategic Litigation Project at the Atlantic Council. She served as a member of the prosecution for the Iran Peoples’ Tribunal in 2012. Our latest report, “Justice is the only...

Carla Ferstman returns to Libya Matters to discuss the views, concerns and participation of victims and their families in transitional justice and accountability mechanisms, and to explore what a genuine victim-centred approach would look like in the Libya context. Carla Ferstman is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Essex Law School and has over 25 years of experience in human rights law and international criminal law. Carla recently authored a series of papers published by LFJL. The...

In this episode, hosts Elham and Mae talk to prominent South African human rights lawyer, Yasmin Sooka about the importance of knowing the truth, how we can seek it, and how truth-seeking should fit into transitional justice processes. Yasmin Sooka currently chairs the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan and is the current chair of the Board of the Foundation for Human Rights in South Africa.  Our latest report, “Justice is the only way forward”: Perceptions of justice in...

How do you deal with the past in order to move forward? And what does this mean for countries that have experienced conflict and mass atrocities? To kick off Season 4, hosts Elham and Marwa attempt to answer these questions with the incredible Justice Albie Sachs. Albie Sachs has been involved in human rights activism for over seventy years and was appointed by Nelson Mandela to be Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa.   Our latest report, “Justice is the only way forward”:...

We’re back! This is Libya Matters – Season 4. New season, new guests, new hosts… and so much to discuss! More than a decade after the 2011 uprising, we’ll be taking a look at what justice really means in Libya and for Libyans, and how we go about achieving it. With a dazzling line up of guests, we grapple with the topics of truth-seeking, criminal accountability, victim participation, reparations, amnesties and much more. From this Wednesday, join Elham Saudi, Marwa Mohamed, and special guest...

How does the international media cover Libya? Are they held accountable? How should they report on conflict and political instability?  In this special episode, we look at the challenges and opportunities for the media covering the Libyan story with Ahmed Gatnash, Raghda Ibraheem, Asma Khalifa and Patrick Wintour. This episode showcases the first instalment of Libya Matters Live, a live event which was recorded in December 2020.   Check out our recent work on the rights of migrants and...

In the final episode in this season, our producer Tariq Elmeri goes deeper into Salwa’s family’s pursuit for justice, and why an independent investigation is very important to her sister Iman. We will also hear from activists and journalists, who will bring us closer to understanding what it’s like to work in these fields in Libya today, and what that means for Salwa’s legacy.  This is a story of tragedy and triumph, and one we are honoured to tell. LFJL is sincerely grateful to Salwa’s...

In this episode, we celebrate the achievements and resilience of Libya’s civil society movement over the last 10 years, which Salwa Bugaighis played an important part in creating. We discuss the challenges that civil society actors continue to face and ways to move forward.  This is a story of tragedy and triumph, and one we are honoured to tell. LFJL is sincerely grateful to Salwa’s family and friends, and all of our friends and partners in Libyan civil society who have given us their time...

In this episode, we take a deeper look at the rights to freedom of expression and association. Ten years on from the protests that started the Libyan uprising and in the year in which elections are supposed to take place, where are we in protecting and promoting these rights? And why are they so important for accountability, peace and democracy? We explore why it is important that these rights are available equally, what they mean for diversity and inclusion, and what has changed  since...