The group of boys, consisting of boys aged 12-16 stared at the school walls blankly for years. Wondering why it was never renovated. Why it looked the same as it did more than 40 years ago. Did they not have the right to redecorate their school? They decided it was time to change the way the wall looked. With their graffiti and markers they wrote slogans they had learnt from children in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. They demanded change.

With that they all laughed nervously at their bravery and returned home feeling somehow liberated; a feeling children only dreamed they had in Syria. Little did they know they had to pay for that sensation. When the sun went down and sleep paralyzed all sensations, heavy footsteps were heard near the old school walls. Every single boy who saw, drew or even supported the slogans on the wall was awoken violently that night. The boys were dragged out of their homes by large armed men wearing uniforms. Their parents screamed and shoved the armed men helplessly. They were paying the price for years of silence.

Unable to understand their crime the boys cried as they were put together in small pickups and jeeps. They were dragged to small humid cells and beaten by large men. A kick in the rib for contemplating change; a blow in the face for asking for change; and a crack in the spine for feeling liberated. They sat in their cells for weeks, beaten and humiliated on a daily basis. As a final warning, their nails were yanked out of their fingers to teach them to never draw on the old wall.

Whoever survived the torture was later returned home, swollen and crushed. The dead were lucky to have never lived life to see the fate of the Syrian children in the future.

Family members and friends of the young boys swarmed the streets of the town of Daraa demanding justice be brought to those who tortured and killed their children. No one listened to them. Friends of friends and passerby’s later joined the angry group, forming a small demonstration. No one listened to their demands. The demonstration grew as more people were familiar with the recent events. There was finally a response. Live bullets and tear gas forced the crowds to split up the demonstrations temporarily. The demonstrations grew larger as angry crowds demanded for nothing but change and were not receiving it. The response was once again bullets and tear gas, however this time the bullets hit flesh. As more blood was spilt, the crowds grew more furious and larger.

The word about the demonstrations reached other provinces like Homs, Douma, Idlib and Damascus suburbs. Touched by the bravery of the little boys in Daraa, more little boys followed their example and drew on old walls. Demonstrations grew larger, demands progressed. People no longer wanted change and reformations; they wanted the complete removal of the old. They wanted Bashar Al Assad and his government to resign. While his grip tightened on his throne, more blood was spilt in demonstrations and more people grew aware of the situation.

The question is, what happened to the children? Did the government learn from their mistakes? Did they stop child torture and imprisonment? On the contrary, after the boys in Daraa, Hamza alkhateeb fell victim to their torture. His genitals mutilated, his body bruised from blows, arms dented with bullet holes and burns from cigarettes, and bones crushed. Him and thousands of children in Syria are paying the price for desiring what the boys in Daraa desired.

This revolution was ignited by the children, carried out by the children, and will be extinguished by the children.

With the departure of the first flight from Dubai International airport this week, Emirates has re-established a key route offering Libyan travellers access to its global network that spans six continents.

“We are now connecting Tripoli not only to Dubai, but also to our worldwide network of more than 130 destinations. Solid early bookings have demonstrated the demand, opening up new markets for passengers to and from Libya,” said Adil Al Ghaith, Emirates’ Vice President Commercial Operations Northern and Western Africa. “Libya is showing healthy economic growth and the re-launch of our flights to Tripoli will help to support business and international trade from Tripoli to the rest of world.”

Emirates now serves Tripoli three times a week with a quick stop in Malta, utilising a Boeing 777-200ER which provides First Class, Business Class and Economy Class travel. EK745 leaves Dubai every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday at 0930hrs arriving in Malta at 1325hrs. The service departs Malta at 1455hrs arriving in Tripoli at 1555hrs. The return flight leaves Tripoli International Airport at 1725hrs and lands in Dubai at 0100hrs the next day.

Tripoli is one of the main hubs of Libya’s economy and, home to many of the country’s largest local and international companies. In June 2012, Emirates re-opened its Tripoli town office enabling customers to book travel on Emirates’ services outside of Libya.

Supporting trade between Tripoli and the rest of the world, Emirates SkyCargo introduced a freighter service to the city in May 2012, helping import a variety of goods such as electronics from the Far East to drilling equipment from the US. The resumption of passenger flights also enables Emirates SkyCargo to better serve Libyan cargo customers by offering a total weekly capacity of over 100 tonnes and more frequent connections with their supplier markets.

Libyan travellers now once again enjoy the renowned service from the airline’s international cabin crew recruited from over 130 countries, gourmet cuisine and award winning ice system with more than 1400 channels of entertainment and the connectivity to send and receive emails and text messages.

Emirates has a fleet of 201 aircraft and is the world’s largest operator of A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft, flying to 134 destinations in 74 countries across six continents.

Anoud al-Senussi was abducted by unknown assailants at approximately 5:00 pm on 2 September outside Al-Baraka prison, formerly known as al-Ruwaimi prison, as the judicial police escorted her to Tripoli International Airport. Upon her release – which the authorities had been delaying since 8 August out of fears for her security – she had planned to meet relatives before flying out to Sabha in southern Libya.

“Anoud’s abduction casts a shadow on the Libyan authorities’ ability to ensure the safety of so many detainees held in relation to the 2011 armed conflict. They must now show that they have the political will and ability to tackle abuses by the militias and establish the rule of law, or the Libyan justice system will remain dysfunctional,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Programme Director at Amnesty International.

“How can the Libyan authorities claim that they are able to deliver fair trials, and apply the law in the most prominent, politically sensitive cases, when they are manifestly unable to ensure the basic safety of detainees?”

Upon Anoud’s release from Al-Baraka prison on Monday afternoon, the three-car judicial police convoy was ambushed by a group of masked men armed with heavy weapons. They allegedly shot in the air before abducting Anoud and driving off to an unknown location.

According to the Ministry of Justice, no one was injured in the attack. So far, the motives of the abduction and the identity of the perpetrators remain unknown. 

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, the Minister of Justice, Salah al-Marghani, announced that investigations were under way and appealed to all Libyans, including the “revolutionaries”, for help in finding Anoud al-Senussi.

“The Libyan authorities’ top priority must be to ensure that Anoud al-Senussi is freed unharmed without delay. They must carry out an independent and impartial investigation into her abduction and bring the perpetrators to justice,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui.

“This latest abduction and the ongoing lawlessness in the country if anything demonstrate the inability of the Libyan authorities to fairly try politically sensitive cases such as Abdallah al-Senussi and Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi and underscores the need to hand them over to the International Criminal Court.”

Due to the sensitivity of Anoud al-Senussi’s case, the authorities had been preparing her release procedures for several weeks, before the operation eventually went ahead yesterday afternoon. A previous release attempt was aborted on 26 August after a riot erupted in al-Baraka prison, where several hundreds detainees are held on charges related to the 2011 conflict.

The detainees protested against delays in referrals to the prosecution, and the judicial authorities’ inability to implement release orders.

‘Anoud Abdallah al-Senussi, aged 21, was arrested in October 2012 following her arrival in Tripoli from Algeria, and sentenced to 10 months in prison on charges of using a forged passport and entering Libya on a forged document.

She was intending to visit her father Abdallah al-Senussi, held in detention in Tripoli since 5 September 2012 despite an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for his arrest. The office of the General Prosecutor recently announced that national proceedings against Abdallah al-Senussi and Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi will begin on 19 September, in a move that defies the ICC and sets the authorities on course to conduct flawed trials that can result in the death penalty.

The judicial police was significantly weakened by the 2011 armed conflict. Hundreds of officers failed to report back to work, and the Ministry of Justice was forced to integrate some 10,000 former members of armed brigades that fought against al-Gaddafi, who lack the necessary training and experience to handle detainees. More resources need to be allocated to ensure the safety of detainees.

It is believed there are some 8,000 conflict-related detainees in Libya. Since the conflict, scores of detainees have been abducted by armed militias. In some cases, they have been tortured and summarily killed. These abductions are usually carried during transfers to courts or after release from prison – either as revenge for ordinary crimes or for acts allegedly committed on behalf of the former regime, or in some cases, for ransom. In some cases detainees have been abducted directly from prison.

The July 26, 2013, killing of Abdulasalam Elmessmary, was the first of a political activist since Muammar Gaddafi was ousted. The assassination appeared to signal a new turn in the violence with potentially serious implications for Libya’s stability. The other victims include two judges and at least 44 serving members of the security forces, most of whom had held positions in Gaddafi’s government. At least six were high-ranking officers under Gaddafi.

“What started as assassinations of members of the police, internal security apparatus, and military intelligence has been further aggravated by the killing of judges and a political activist,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director. “The failure to hold anyone accountable highlights the government’s failure to build a functioning justice system.”

According to cases documented by Human Rights Watch, political assassinations in Benghazi and Derna peaked in the second half of 2012, and again in January and July 2013. While there have been reports of assassinations in other parts of the country, they have mostly been centered in the east.

Human Rights Watch interviewed relatives, friends or witnesses of eight of the victims. Relatives told Human Rights Watch that as far as they could determine, Libyan law enforcement officials had not conducted comprehensive investigations. They said law enforcement agents did not investigate at the crime scene, summon any potential witnesses, or provide information to the families about their investigations.

Law enforcement officials acknowledged to Human Rights Watch that they had not concluded any of the investigations despite trying to conduct investigations into the assassinations. They said they lacked sophisticated means to investigate, faced many obstacles due to the prevailing security situation, and lacked the means to summon witnesses without the use of force.

No groups or individuals have claimed responsibility for the assassinations. The only person known to have been arrested escaped.

On July 23, Interior Minister Mohammad Khalifa al-Sheikh said at a news conference that “people with a past criminal record,” were behind the killings. He said that some of their identities were known but could not be revealed since the information was classified, and that the government was investigating and collecting information.

On July 28, Justice Minister Salah al-Marghani said the government was determined to bring to justice “those responsible for the assassinations” in Benghazi and Derna. He said the government would consider accepting the support of an international forensics team.

“Myriad armed groups and criminals with various agendas are benefiting from a weak and dysfunctional law enforcement system where they can kill even police and judges with impunity,” Stork said. “Unless the government takes urgent steps to actually turn its own pledges into action and make building its police and criminal investigation units a priority, there is a real risk of a further surge in violence.”

“An attack happened this morning on the Emirati embassy – there are no casualties. An investigation is under way,” Interior Ministry Spokesman Rami Kaal told Reuters without giving further details.

A security source said it appeared a rocket-propelled grenade had been fired at the embassy compound.

No injuries were reported.

The UAE embassy compound in Tripoli is in an area which houses many embassies.

On Tuesday, a mortar attack was fired apparently targeting Tripoli’s Corinthia hotel but t went off course and hit flats nearby. Corinthia is a hotel visited by government officials but also a building housing several foreign missions.

There has been a series of bombings in recent months in Libya which have mainly targeted diplomats and missions.

The Tunisian consulate was attacked early in July while France’s embassy in Tripoli was bombed in April.

U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other American officials had been killed when an armed gang attacked the U.S. Consulate in the Libyan coastal city of Benghazi in September last year.

Around 7,800 of the migrants and asylum-seekers arrived in Italy, while Malta received around 600, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Most of those making the journey departed from North Africa, principally Libya (around 6,700 people). The remaining 1,700 crossed from Greece and Turkey, landing in southern Italy.

Countries in sub-Saharan Africa are the main places of origin of these migrants and asylum-seekers, particularly Somalia and Eritrea. Other countries of origin include Egypt, Pakistan and Syria. Nationals of Gambia, Mali and Afghanistan also make these crossings, but in smaller numbers, noted UNHCR.

The agency has also recorded some 40 deaths in the first six months of 2013 by people attempting to cross the Mediterranean between North Africa and Italy.

“The Mediterranean is one of the busiest seaways in the world, as well as a dangerous sea frontier for migrants and asylum-seekers en route to southern Europe,” said UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards.

“In view of the perils, UNHCR again calls on all vessels at sea to be on alert for migrants and refugees in need of rescue,” he said at a news conference in Geneva. “We also renew our call to all shipmasters in the Mediterranean to remain vigilant and to carry out their duty of rescuing vessels in distress.

“International and European law also requires States to ensure that people intercepted or rescued at sea who seek asylum can gain access to territory and to an asylum procedure where their international protection needs or claims can be examined,” he added.

UNHCR noted that the peak crossing period for migrants and asylum-seekers runs from May to September.

“At this time of year, when there is an increase in the number of people trying to make this perilous journey, it is essential to ensure that the long-established tradition of rescue at sea is upheld by all and that international maritime law is adhered to,” said Mr. Edwards.

Last year, some 15,000 migrants and asylum-seekers reached Italy and Malta by sea, while almost 500 people were reported dead or missing at sea.

Tawerghans fled their hometown in August 2011 as armed fighters from the nearby city of Misrata approached. About 35,000 Tawerghans are dispersed across the country and have been prevented from returning by armed groups from Misrata. The Misrata groups accuse Tawerghans of fighting with pro-Gaddafi forces during the 2011 conflict and committing war crimes in Misrata.

Whereas it is understandable that individuals in Misrata may want justice for crimes committed against them by individuals, that does not give them any right to block the right of return of displaced people to their homes, Human Rights Watch said. Widespread or systematic forced displacement carried out as a policy, as in this case, amounts to a crime against humanity.

“An entire community is being held hostage to crimes allegedly committed by a few,” said Eric Goldstein, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The onus is now on the government to end this collective punishment by ensuring that Tawerghans can exercise their right finally to return to their homes.”

In recent weeks, the government, religious leaders, tribal leaders, and the United Nations mission in Libya have all cautioned against a unilateral initiative announced by the Tawergha community to return home on June 25. The government and others said they were concerned about possible confrontations by groups that oppose the Tawerghans’ return.

The Local Council of Tawergha, the main body representing the displaced Tawergha community, decided to postpone the return operation. Nevertheless, a small group of Tawerghans, motivated in part by concern that a plan was afoot to resettle them permanently in a place other than Tawergha, set out for home. They were blocked by local authorities in Ajdabiya. The local officials apparently were acting in consort with the central government, which feared attacks on the convoy by groups from Misrata, a member of the convoy who attended the meetings with the local authorities told Human Rights Watch.

Human Rights Watch visited Tawergha regularly in 2011 and 2012 and reviewed satellite imagery of the destruction of the city over time. Researchers observed extensive burning and looting of residential and commercial buildings in most parts of the town by arson and targeted demolitions after the fighting there had stopped in mid-2011, in an apparent attempt to prevent Tawerghans from returning home. The government has been unwilling or unable to intervene to break the veto that Misrata militias are exercising over the return of Tawerghans.

“Keeping people from going home is like detaining them ‘for their own good,’” Goldstein said. “The authorities should not only let them go home but should ensure them security as they go and when they get there.”

“Quality education for all is fundamental for a peaceful, democratic and productive society, and UNICEF commends the Ministry of Education for tangible achieved results,” said Carel de Rooy, the agency’s Libya Country Director.

The agreement was signed by Mr. del Rooy and the Minister of Education, Ali Abed, in the Libyan capital, Tripoli.

“We are very pleased to respond to the needs and requests of the Libyan Government and sign this work plan so that this joint plan can be operationalized in the best interest of children and adolescents in Libya.”

The signing of the agreement will kick start action on various policies, including the development of an education management information system, validation of early learning development standards, and the promotion of early childhood care. It will also support teachers’ training, risk education and the establishment of inclusive education mechanisms in schools.

UNICEF has been an important partner of Libya’s Ministry of Education, supporting the first nationwide schools assessment after the revolution in 2011, promoting mine risk education, and training teachers in psychosocial support and positive discipline and classroom management as well as drafting the first standards for early childhood development.

Today’s agreement is a continuation of the initial humanitarian response in 2011, and the 2012 work plan signed for sustainable development cooperation between the Ministry of Education and UNICEF.

In a news release, UNICEF commended the steps taken by the Education Ministry to achieve an effective education system, but warned that there are still many challenges. The agency also reiterated its support, as well as that of development partners to support the Ministry to realize its goals.

“The Members of the Security Council expressed deep concern about the recent acts of violence in Benghazi which claimed lives of many people and called upon all Libyans to rally around their legitimate institutions, both civilian and military,” the 15-member Council said in a statement released to the press last night.

The Council also “encouraged all Libyans to engage with the political process of reconciliation and constitutional reform through peaceful and inclusive means, underpinned by respect for the rule of law.” The Members of the Security Council expressed deep concern about the recent acts of violence in Benghazi which claimed lives of many people and called upon all Libyans to rally around their legitimate institutions, both civilian and military.

The statement comes two days after Tarek Mitri, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Libya, briefed the members.

Mr. Mitri, who also heads the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), said that managing Libya’s democratic transition is bound to be difficult given the legacy of decades of brutal rule and that the country could benefit from a national political dialogue on the way forward.

Muammar al-Qaddafi ruled the North African country for more than 40 years until a pro-democracy uprising in 2011 – similar to the protests in other countries in the Middle East and North Africa – led to civil war and the end of his regime.

In today’s statement, the Security Council also called on Libyan authorities “to investigate all violations of human rights and bring the perpetrators of such acts to justice.”

They expressed serious concern about the continued arbitrary detentions without access to due process of thousands of persons held outside the authority of the state and called for their immediate release or transfer to detention centres under state authority.

The Members also condemned cases of torture and mistreatment observed in illegal detention centres in Libya, and emphasized that practices of torture and extra-judicial killing should not be tolerated.

“It is no secret that the drafting of the constitution and the preparations involved are of special significance to Libya’s democratic transition towards stability and prosperity,” the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said in a news release. “Representation and meaningful participation of women in the Constitution-Drafting Assembly and in the process of drafting the constitution will consequently contribute to the building of the new Libya.”

UNSMIL noted that women played a significant role in sparking the 17 February Revolution which toppled former leader Muammar al-Qadhafi two years ago.

“[Women] worked tirelessly to consolidate the values of the revolution in building an inclusive state of law and equality, and impressively participated in the country’s first free elections in over four decades,” UNSMIL said.

The Mission added that women’s representation in public life has largely been possible due to the special measures adopted for the elections last year, which allowed 32 women to win seats in the Government, and urged decision-makers to consider adopting special measures in the elections to the Constitution-Drafting Assembly.

“Special measures for women, including quotas, are effective tools in helping increase women’s political participation and are in line with international standards and obligations,” UNSMIL said. “The elections of 2012 serve as an exemplary example of the positive impact of special measures on women’s representation, not only for Libya but for the whole world.”

The Mission also reiterated its commitment to support Libyans in their democratic transition, and in particular to facilitate the participation of women in public life.