Delivering the United Kingdom’s statement to the UN Security Council in New York on 25 November 2025, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Legal Adviser Colin McIntyre welcomed progress reported by the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor under Resolution 1970 (2011). The UK drew attention to the anticipated surrender of Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri following his arrest in Germany and urged continued cooperation to ensure all outstanding ICC warrants are executed.
Resolution 1970, adopted unanimously on 26 February 2011 under Chapter VII, referred the situation in Libya since 15 February 2011 to the ICC Prosecutor. The text requires Libya’s authorities to cooperate fully with the Court and Prosecutor, while urging all other States and relevant organisations to do the same; it also invites six‑monthly briefings from the Prosecutor to the Council. This remains the legal basis for the ICC’s Libya docket.
El Hishri, alleged to be a senior official at Tripoli’s Mitiga Prison linked to the Special Deterrence Forces (Radaa), was detained by German authorities at Berlin Brandenburg Airport on 16 July 2025 under an ICC warrant issued on 10 July. He is accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, torture and sexual violence, allegedly committed between February 2015 and early 2020. He remains in custody in Germany pending transfer to The Hague; if surrendered, this would be the first ICC trial of a Libyan suspect.
The UK statement referenced progress across four investigative tracks during the latest reporting period. Over the past 18 months, the ICC has prioritised cases linked to detention facilities and the mass‑atrocity file in Tarhuna; six arrest warrants in the latter were unsealed on 4 October 2024. The Prosecutor has previously told the Council that key investigative activities are expected to be completed by end‑2025, subject to sustained cooperation and adequate resources.
For practitioners, the cooperation regime flows from two sources. First, Resolution 1970 places a binding duty on Libyan authorities to cooperate fully, including arrest and surrender of suspects. Second, while States not party to the Rome Statute are urged to assist, States Parties such as Germany process ICC requests through domestic procedures and carry out arrests and surrenders-illustrated by the El Hishri case.
The UK also underscored that the ICC must be able to discharge its mandate without interference and called on all States to respect and support the Court’s work. That appeal reflects repeated warnings from the Prosecutor about operational pressures and resource shortfalls that could slow progress without consistent State cooperation and funding.
Immediate next steps focus on judicial transfer: once German proceedings conclude, El Hishri is expected to be surrendered to The Hague for pre‑trial proceedings. Separately, the Prosecutor is due to brief the Security Council again under the six‑monthly reporting cycle stipulated by Resolution 1970, offering the next checkpoint on cooperation and enforcement.
For Libyan institutions, the test now is practical delivery: continued coordination with the ICC on arrests, safe transfer of suspects and facilitation of evidence. For other States, the Council’s 2011 referral and the Court’s unsealed warrants-such as those relating to Tarhuna-frame clear expectations on assistance so that victims’ cases can move into open judicial proceedings.