Human Rights in Libya: The Impact of International Society Since 1969 by Giacomina De Bona

Author:Giacomina De Bona [Bona, Giacomina De]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Civil Rights, Political Science, Human Rights
ISBN: 9780415690584
Google: hx0kvEA5ccEC
Goodreads: 13716085
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2012-11-19T00:00:00+00:00

The period 1992–99 offers an interesting example of the exclusion from international society of a non-conforming state. As Buzan argues, international society continues to uphold its rules and norms even when it does this through means of coercion, that is, by threatening exclusion and withdrawal of membership from international society. Coercion is a means of enforcing the norms of international society, according to which the targeted unit or member has either to conform to those norms or to pay the price of being an outsider. In the latter case, the price is to be stripped of one’s status as a fully recognised member and the loss of legitimacy in international law that follows.

Although some authors (e.g., Merheb 1997) have argued that the impact of the sanctions on the human rights situation in Libya was unclear, I suggest that exclusion from international society led the country into a state of “non-existence”. To become an outcast from international society meant that Libya effectively became a “no man’s land”, and lost its legitimacy in international society. As Buzan pointed out, “Membership has security implications in and of itself, not necessarily guaranteeing survival, but giving some protection against being treated as a terra nullius whose inhabitants can be treated as non-human” (Buzan and Little 1996:261). Libya lost that protection, and was thus left in a vacuum, where human rights as “the standard of civilisation” (Buzan 2004) were not applicable because the country had become an outsider. Human rights norms no longer related to the regime which, being excluded from international society, had no reason to feel bound by its standards.

Because of this exclusion, Libya was threatened with the possibility of being denied a range of rights that derived from membership itself, such as the recognition of sovereignty, the equality of peoples, and self-determination. As Buzan points out, membership allocates other entitlements, such as authoritative communication in the international arena, limits to the use of force, allocation of property rights and sanctity of agreements (ibid.). Potentially Libya was debarred from the possibility of entering into bilateral and/or multi-lateral negotiations of a commercial or strategic nature, as well as from the possibility of shaping international arrangements. Thus, during the period of the sanctions, Libya was not regarded as entitled to a legitimate role in international relations, and was left marginalised for a decade. With the loss of legitimacy and exclusion from international society, the regime was not able to play a significant role internationally, and, consequently, felt no pressure to conform to the norms of international society. As a peripheral state it lost its status of legitimacy, and its room for manoeuvre was immediately constrained. As Skinner notes, an action in international society is constrained “to the degree that it cannot be legitimated”, the range of possible forms of innovative action is limited by the prevailing morality of international society, and actors “cannot hope to stretch … indefinitely the application of existing rules and meanings” (2002:156). Libya was not constrained by international society since it was ostracised and had no leverage for manoeuvre.

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