Promoting Democracy and Upholding Human Rights in Libya - Essay Example

Gaddafi then put into practice ideologies outlined in his own manifesto, The Green Book. He served until 1977 when he announced that he had officially stepped down from power and claimed that he would maintain a ceremonial position (Freedom House, 2010).

With Gaddafi remaining a ceremonial leader, Libya was ruled by People’s Committees as local governments, and indirectly elected General People’s Congress as the legislature. There was also the General People’s Committee, which served as the executive branch. However, to ensure that Gaddafi maintains full control, he manipulated these structures to suit his political endeavors. US diplomats in Libya described his politics as “mastery of tactical maneuvering”. Gaddafi, together with his family and close friends controlled almost every aspect of business enterprises (Wyatt, 2011).

Looking at the political landscape in Libya, one may think that it is one of the best democracies in the world, being one of the richest countries in Africa. However, behind the outwardly wealthy Arab country there is a lot of human suffering. Gaddafi initiated projects that would provide free medical care, free education, and free clean drinking water for all. However, it is claimed that the road network is only good in parts of the country with his support. The free medical care provided is also sub-standard (Freedom House, 2010). There are countries that from outside may seem to have democratic structures in place, but which scrutiny may reveal to be undemocratic. They just have these structures to deceive the international community. These regimes manipulate everything to ensure they stay in power and control virtually everything (Edwards, 1993).

Talking of human rights violations, there are believable sources that cite the existence of a crisis. Gaddafi was not only a de-facto leader, but he was also an autocratic one. Dissent to his regime was notoriously termed illegal under Law 75 of 1973. No one was allowed to form a political party, lest they were executed- ranging from public hangings and the images rebroadcasted on public television channels. There were also assassinations of Libyan dissents all over the world by the Libyan intelligence. Reports also cite rapes and indiscriminate jail terms for dissents (Freedom House, 2010).

Our question then is; what is the best approach to promote democracy and protect human rights in Libya? Many countries have intervened but a lot more needs to be done. The Middle East and Northern Africa regions have actually seen the involvement of foreign countries since time immemorial; an attempt to promote democracy. However, Islamic leaders have rejected some of them, especially the US, on allegations that they want to rule the Arab world (Ferguson, 2004).

There are various interventions, which the international community has made in an attempt to promote democracy in Libya. Countries have not only condemned attacks on civilians but also some of them have also abandoned diplomatic relations with Libya. The recent crisis saw arrest warrants imposed on Gaddafi and his allies by the International Criminal Court. Many countries went as far as supporting the anti-Gaddafi National Transitional Council as the legitimate government. People from other countries have also held solidarity protests against the regime (BBC News, 2011).

Various international organizations, for example, USAID, have also participated by preaching democratic rule, which can be achieved through elections, well-structured government institutions, and empowering civil societies (Carothers, 1997). However, Milton Edwards (1993) thinks that these organizations should instead look into factors that hinder democracy. Egocentrism is also a hindrance to this process. The UK, for instance, did not question Gaddafi’s policies since they received energy from Libya. European Union has also kept quiet because of similar reasons. Countries should see beyond their interests (Hughes). It is said that the EU has gone as far as abandoning its stand on promoting democracy when engaging in trade with Libya and Iran (Youngs, 2010).

EU and US should also see the promotion of democracy as superior to installing political stability in Libya (Durac, 2009). 

There should also be forced to bring democracy, as it happened in the case of the US in Iraq. This successfully killed autocracy and had little impact on democracy (Caratorta, 2009). As George Bush once said in Iraq, the promotion of democracy should come before stability. However, most players still insist on forming regimes while doing little to get address the causes of the deficit of democracy. They think what they do is safer than forming new political systems (Powell, 2009).

For a long time, the promotion of democracy has been left to the EU and US. More players should be involved, especially those around Libya. Such an intervention has worked so well in Lebanon, where neighbors have helped to weaken the notorious government (Freedom House, 2010). Iran has been a good player in this field, having established good relations with Hezbollah. This helped much after 2006, a period for reconstruction. This led to criticism of the Lebanese regime, weakening its rule (BBC News, 2006).