August 2011 C ONTENTS

Recommended Steps 1. Roadmap for Democracy Declaration 2. Balancing Security with Respect of Rights 3. Provision of Basic Services 4. The Legal System 5. Justice and Reconciliation 6. Communications and Media 7. The Economy 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2

T HE

LIBYA: D AY A FTER

Immediate Steps for a Post-Qadhafi Libya

On July 29, 2011, the Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG) hosted a roundtable entitled Libya: The Day After at the offices of Orrick, Herrington, and Sutcliffe LLP. The roundtable brought together thirty experts in the areas of post-conflict reconstruction, constitutional law, economic development, human rights, and transitional justice. The objective of this roundtable was to identify the steps that would need to be taken immediately by the leadership of a post-Qadhafi Libya. These include (1) issuing a roadmap for democracy declaration, (2) balancing security with the respect of citizens rights, (3) providing basic services, (4) maintaining a functional legal system during the transition, (5) providing for justice and reconciliation, (6) addressing communications and media, and (7) dealing with some urgent economic matters. It was also recommended that the Transitional National Council (TNC) identify several key decisions that could be announced on day one of the transition, to provide a clear sense of policy direction to the Libyan people and the international community. The views cited in this report reflect comments made by individual participants and do not necessarily reflect the consensus views of all participants in the roundtable, the Transitional National Council, or PILPG. R ECOMMENDED S TEPS The roundtable participants identified major issues that will be of immediate importance for the Transitional National Council once the Qadhafi regime falls. As a result of grappling with these issues, seven recommended steps emerged that could inform the Transitional National Councils actions in the hours and days immediately following the fall of Qadhafi. (1) Roadmap for Democracy Declaration The Transitional National Council could immediately issue a roadmap for democracy declaration that would set forth a number of elements. This declaration could declare that the Transitional National

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Council will function as the governing authority until elections have taken place and announce mechanisms to demonstrate how the Transitional National Council will seek to be inclusive and representative of the Libyan population. This declaration could speak to the international community by, inter alia: (i) announcing Libyas respect for all treaties and international obligations entered into by Qadhafis government, (ii) announcing that all commercial agreements with international companies will be honored pending a case-by-case review, and (iii) committing to welcome international election officials to observe the elections. (2) Balancing Security with Respect of Rights The Transitional National Council could set forth a strategy for disarming the existing militias and armed groups or integrating these groups into the Libyan army. This strategy would include a timeframe for disarmament or integration without specifying specific dates. The Transitional National Council could also take control of the various national intelligence services that served the Qadhafi regime, begin closing some of them, and issue guidelines for how the remainder will be brought under democratic and constitutional controls. (3) Provision of Basic Services The Transitional National Council could provide municipalities with emergency financial resources necessary to deliver basic services to the citizens in their communities and issue a statement inviting the Libyan people to take part in the task of ensuring basic services are provided through their municipal authorities. The Transitional National Council could prepare contracts with the companies providing basic services to Libya, including those ensuring the supply of electricity and water and the disposal of garbage and announce that civil servants employed by the Qadhafi regime should remain in their positions for the time being. Finally, the Transitional National Council could welcome the immediate return of all foreign workers who departed during the fighting, especially those from neighboring Egypt and Tunisia. (4) The Legal System The Transitional National Council could announce that the laws passed during the Qadhafi era
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remain in place during the transition period and that the rule of law will be maintained through this transition. It could further declare that certain laws may be reformed subsequently. (5) Justice & Reconciliation The Transitional National Council could announce the immediate release all political prisoners and launch a domestic investigation into the 1996 extrajudicial killing of prisoners in the Abu Salim prison. It could become a signatory to the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and announce the creation of a domestic truth and reconciliation commission to focus on truth telling and national reconciliation regarding past human rights abuses. Finally, the Transitional National Council could pledge that no official retaliation will take place against those working for Qadhafis regime who did not commit war crimes during the fighting and provide assurance that the new government will not hold people accountable for their loyalty to the former regime but will only hold accountable former members of the regime for their deeds. (6) Communications & Media The Transitional National Council could employ television and radio to inform the Libyan people regularly of the progress of the transition and the decisions being made as well as to gather public input into the process. It could ensure that the international and domestic spokesperson for the Transitional National Council is the same individual to enhance the consistency of the messages being delivered. Finally, the Transitional National Council could abolish the Ministry of Information and pledge to work with the transitional constituent assembly to draft legislation that would enable non-government television, radio and print media to be established. (7) The Economy The Transitional National Council could announce the formation of a committee of eminent Libyan financial experts to plan for the issuance of new currency. It could appoint a government committee under a respected economic figure to organize a smooth takeover of all Libyan government-controlled investments abroad and appoint a committee to recover stolen assets held abroad by the Qadhafi family and its supporters,

including those sequestered by the international community after the revolution began. The Transitional National Council could also appoint an audit committee to begin reviewing all new government contracts to be issued under the authority of the Transitional National Council to prevent corruption from tarnishing the reputation of the Council.