Horrific abuse of migrants in Libya “at scale”; UN seeks action

The United Nations has called on the international community to suspend migration agreements with Libya, citing widespread trafficking, torture, forced labour, and other abuses against migrants.

The UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, said migrants were being “dehumanized at scale” in the conflict-torn north African country, and said there was collusion between state and non-state actors.

In the 12 months since April 2023, more than 2,400 people died or went missing trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, of whom more than 1,300 departed from Libya, according to the UN.

Speaking at the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday, Mr Türk urged the international community to consider halting its agreement with the north African country on asylum seekers and migration.

“Trafficking, torture, forced labour, extortion, starvation in intolerable conditions of detention” are “perpetrated at scale…with impunity,” he told member states.

“Mass expulsions, the sale of human beings, including children” are widespread in Libya, Mr. Türk continued, insisting that collusion between state and non-state actors was ongoing, with victims subject to “dehumanization”.

Nigerians Too

Most of the migrants are from West Africa, and some are Nigerians, who, driven by poverty, hunger, unemployment, and insecurity, undertake perilous journeys in search of greener pastures in Europe and beyond.

Between 2021 and date, over 5,000 Nigerians stranded in Libya, a transit point for many migrants, have been safely returned home with the assistance of the Nigerian government. In April, 138 stranded Nigerians were rescued.

In a call to the Libyan authorities to investigate crimes against the many thousands of vulnerable people on the move, the UN rights chief highlighted the discovery of a mass grave in March in southwest Libya containing the bodies of 65 presumed migrants.

“As if this were not horrific enough, we are following up on reports of another mass grave recently discovered in the desert area at the Libyan-Tunisian border… The loved ones of those who died have every right to know the truth,” he said.

The high commissioner urged a review of the longstanding arrangement between the European Union and the Libyan authorities tasked with intercepting migrants who attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.

Independent rights experts and charities involved in search and rescue operations have frequently criticized the arrangement, citing alleged reckless behaviour by the Libyan Coast Guard, including firing at or near migrant vessels and ramming boats to make them capsize, before returning the survivors to Libya.

“It is unconscionable that people in search of safety and dignity are suffering and dying in such unspeakable circumstances,” he said.

“I remind all States of the collective responsibility under international law to save lives and prevent deaths at sea.”

Extrajudicial killings

The high commissioner also called for action to address the deaths “of so many migrants and refugees” heading to Libya via the Sahara Desert, following new estimates from the UN that twice as many migrants likely die trying to cross the sands than in the Mediterranean Sea.

Mr Türk said Libya’s political instability and had prevented UN rights monitors from fully accessing southern and eastern parts of the country, adding that investigators were also refused access to detention facilities and other locations across the country.

Highlighting a spike in “arbitrary arrests and detentions, enforced disappearances and detention-related violations” inside Libya, the UN rights chief also expressed concern about the targeting of political opponents and dissenting voices.

“While the figure is likely to be higher and arrests continue, we have verified at least 60 cases of arbitrary detention of individuals who peacefully were exercising their right to express political views. In some cases, detention was followed by extra-judicial killing,” he said.