A new State prison that was inaugurated in Misrata on 13 August 2013 is a positive step towards strengthening the rule of law and improving conditions for detainees in Libya, Deputy Special Representative for the Secretary-General for Libya Georg Charpentier said.

The Institution for Correction and Rehabilitation was opened by the Minister of Justice, Mr. Salah Al-Merghani.. The facility is still under construction and includes an outdoor exercise area as well as plans for building a study and vocational training centre in the future. Conditions constitute an important improvement on many past or current detention facilities and will improve the lives of detainees.

Corrections officers from the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) continue to advise the Ministry of Justice to improve the facility.

Mr. Charpentier said the opening of the prison constitutes an important step forward in enabling the handover of detainees to a single combined prison under full control of the judicial police under the Ministry of Justice. Speaking to journalists after the ceremony, he offered continued UN support for the efforts of the Ministry of Justice.

The facility represents a successful collaboration between the Ministry of Justice and the Misrata Local Council.

The opening ceremony was hosted by the Minister of Justice, the head of the Judicial Police and Misrata Local Council. In addition to representatives from UNSMIL, the ceremony was attended by the Ambassadors of the United States and the United Kingdom, representatives of the Netherlands, Spain and Germany as well as judicial officials and heads of various prison facilities in Misrata.