Social Dynamics and International Human Rights Law in Libya: A Sociological Analysis

Abstract

This paper examines the interplay between international law and Libyan society, focusing on the enforcement of human rights from a sociological perspective. Since Libya’s 2011 revolution, the country has experienced protracted conflict, institutional fragmentation, and social upheaval. We propose a conceptual framework and computational model to analyze how international legal obligations (e.g., UN referrals and human rights treaties) are translated into on-the-ground enforcement in Libya’s complex social context. The study integrates qualitative insights from recent reports (e.g. Human Rights Watch, ICJ) with a hypothetical multi-agent simulation. Our model explores scenarios of enforcement under varying levels of international support and local engagement, using realistic estimates from secondary sources. In a baseline scenario, only a small fraction of human rights violations is prosecuted; under increased UN assistance and civil society involvement, enforcement compliance rises dramatically (e.g., an illustrative jump from ~30% to ~75% of cases). These findings highlight the pivotal role of social trust and civil institutions: for instance, higher NGO activity correlates with greater legal compliance. However, they also underscore enduring barriers: outdated laws and tribal fragmentation continue to obstruct justice. The contributions of this work are threefold: (1) it bridges sociology and international law in the Libyan context, elucidating how social structures mediate legal processes; (2) it provides a novel simulation-based methodology to illustrate enforcement dynamics; and (3) it offers policy-relevant insights into mechanisms for improving human rights outcomes (e.g., integrating customary leaders into legal reforms). These results suggest that aligning international norms with Libya’s social fabric can substantially enhance human rights protection, with implications for transitional justice elsewhere.