Appeal for the city of Derna

Open Letter to the Secretary General of the United Nations

18th August 2017

Dear Secretary-General,

I address this open letter to you in your capacity as Secretary-General and to all those concerned at the growing humanitarian crisis in the besieged city of Derna in eastern Libya.
Reports from Derna speak of worsening conditions for the besieged inhabitants, with no access by road for the delivery of fuel or other essential supplies. The people of Derna face the rigors of the hot Libyan summer without electricity, which also provides the city’s water supply, with severely restricted access to food and medication supplies and above all in a condition of siege, under which no Derna resident can travel freely.
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Libya, Maria Ribeiro, has expressed concern at reports of severe shortages of basic necessities, including medical supplies, in the city, with the consequent impact on the safety and wellbeing of civilians and called for the safe delivery of humanitarian supplies to ensure continued access to basic services.
In line with Article 30 of the Libyan Political Agreement, which states that all parties shall be committed to lifting the siege on all besieged cities and facilitating the provision of humanitarian aid by the Government of National Accord, civil society institutions or international organizations to those in need and refraining from obstructing such aid by any means, the Government of National Accord has called upon all sides to "facilitate ways to provide for all the needs of the citizens".
The current siege of the city of Derna, which affects all residents, including women and children, the sick and elderly, is in clear breach of international human rights law and humanitarian law, which prohibits collective punishment. As early as 1899, the Hague Regulations prohibited the imposition of any general penalty on the population on account of the acts of individuals for which it cannot be regarded as collectively responsible. The 1949 Geneva Convention III and its Protocols also forbid collective punishment for individual acts. Paragraph 5 of the 1974 UN Declaration on the Protection of Women and Children in Emergency and Armed Conflict provides that all forms of repression of women and children, including collective punishment, committed by belligerents in the course of military operations or in occupied territories, shall be considered criminal.

The Head of Derna’s council declared on 16th August 2017 that Derna is a city in crisis and called on national, regional and international bodies for action to provide safe corridors for relief convoys, supply the city with fuel, prevent arbitrary acts against the people of the city and immediately uplift the siege.

I believe it is time for all concerned parties to act to relieve the suffering of the citizens of Derna and I call upon the United Nations, the African Union, the League of Arab States, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, the European Union and governments of neighbouring states to work together with Libyan groups and individuals for this humanitarian purpose.