Human rights a priority, says new Libyan PM Keib

Libya’s new prime minister Abdel Rahim al-Keib has vowed his interim government will put human rights at the top of the agenda after he was elected in a public vote by the members of the National Transitional Council, NTC, on Monday night. 

AFP/Marco Longari

“We guarantee that we are going to build a nation that respects human rights and does not accept the abuse of human rights, But we need time,” he said.

Keib, an academic and wealthy businessman, replaces Mahmud Jabril who resigned three days after former Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi was caputured and killed in his hometown of Sirte on 20 October.

Under a political roadmap, Keib has until 23 November to form an interim government that, parallel to the NTC, will run Libya for eight months after which elections will be held for a constituent assembly.

Keib’s appointment comes as the United Nations warned about the prolifieration of weapons looted from Kadhafi’s huge stockpile.

There are growing fears that militant groups in Africa and elsewhere could obtain shoulder-fired rockets and other weapons from the arms cache.

Since Kadhafi’s death, the transiational government has also found two chemical weapons sites hidden by the old regime.

The UN envoy to Libya, Ian Martin, told the Security Council last week that international inspectors will have to visit hundreds of suspected weapons stockpile sites in Libya.

Meanwhile, the Nato-enforced no-fly zone and naval blockade on the country ended a minute before midnight local time on Monday, as stipulated by a UN Security Council resolution last week that ended the alliance’s mandate.