UNITAR Presentation on The Necessary Truth - Memory, Healing, and Justice
This presentation will inform Member States on a ground breaking Libyan legislation which equates victims of sexual violence to victims of war providing for social, economic, educational and medical assistance in a perspective of healing – promoting trust, dignity and a sense of justice. The bill, adopted by Prime Minister Zeidan’s Cabinet and soon to be ratified by the Libyan General National Congress, is poised to open innovative paths in addressing rape and sexual violence in Muslim societies redefining the concepts of honor, truth, dignity and justice. In this context of acknowledgement and healing, the Libyan NGO Observatory on Gender in Conflict in collaboration with the international organization Ara Pacis Initiative is developing a pioneering project based on an audiovisual memory archive of testimonies of rape and sexual violence. The project will address issues of truth, memory, oral history, personal and societal healing and the nexus with justice and peace.