India for impartial probe into Libya war crimes

India on Thursday said it expects an "impartial" investigation by the International Criminal Court into war crimes committed during the Libyan conflict that punishes both Muammar Gaddafi's troops as well as opposition forces responsible for violence and killings during the uprising.

In a statement at the United Nations Security Council on Libya, India's permanent representative to the UN Hardeep Singh Puri said ICC's prosecutor should not be "influenced by non-judicial considerations" while carrying out his investigation into the crimes committed against humanity in Libya.

"We expect that the ICC prosecutor will carry out a thorough and impartial investigation into all alleged crimes by all parties to the conflict in Libya.

The prosecutor must focus his attention solely on prosecution without diversion due to extraneous considerations," Puri said.

India emphasised that all those responsible for committing crimes in Libya should be held accountable "irrespective of which side of the conflict they may belong to". "Political or other non-judicial considerations should not exonerate anybody from prosecution for the crimes committed," he said.

Puri said the eight month-long conflict in Libya resulted in a large number of deaths and massive destruction. "Proliferation of weapons has emerged as a major problem posing threat to stability in Libya as well as in the larger region," he said.

Following the death of Gaddafi and liberation of the North African country, the new authorities in Libya should exert their sovereignty and independence and undertake an inclusive political process aimed at achieving national reconciliation, peace, security and stability in the country.

India called on the international community to fully assist the Libyan authorities in the reconciliation process, noting that an inclusive approach to national reconciliation, anchored in state sovereignty, "is the only way to overcome the multitude of problems that Libya is facing in the present, ostensible post-conflict scenario".

ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo's Office is also investigating gender crimes and examining information related to attacks on migrant workers.

India said it is important to ensure that all actions by the ICC prosecutor should fall strictly within the ambit of Resolution 1970 that concerns those states that are not party to the Rome Statute, the international treaty that established the ICC.

India is not a signatory to the Rome Statute nor is it a member of the ICC. Of the 193 UN members, 119 are party to the Rome Statute. Puri said India supports the rights and obligations of the states who are members of the ICC.