New York, USA, March 27, 2023/African Media Agency(AMA)/There are reasonable grounds to believe that migrants were enslaved in official detention centers or “secret prisons”, and that rapes were committed as crimes against humanity, UN investigators said on Monday.
In its final report published on Monday in Geneva, the United Nations Independent Fact Finding Mission on Libya notes that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the rape as a crime against humanity was committed in the places detention of Mabani, al-Shwarif, Zuwarah, Sabratha, Sabha and Bani Walid. UN investigators interviewed numerous survivors and witnesses of rape.
“There are reasonable grounds to believe that the crime against humanity of sexual slavery, not previously reported by the mission, was committed in the trafficking centers of Bani Walid and Sabratah during the mandate of the mission”, they said. concluded the investigators, noting to rely on a holistic assessment of all the evidence collected.
Migrants regularly raped
According to the testimony of a migrant detained in the centers of Maya, Ayn Zarah and Gharyan, “his concern was not to die in the waters of the Mediterranean, but to return to the prison where refugees and migrants are oppressed and tortured by the guards”.
Migrant women were regularly raped, said a male witness describing how “during the night, the guards [de Bani Walid] come in the dark with the torch and approach the women, choose one and rape her”. “They order us to sleep and cover ourselves with the mattress while they take the woman away,” the report detailed based on testimonies from victims.
Under these conditions, pregnancies are a common consequence of rape. According to investigators, migrant women have reported seeing women give birth in detention without professional medical support.
At the same time, migrant survivors face “insurmountable difficulties” in accessing safe and adequate sexual and reproductive health services, as well as addressing the harms inflicted and the resulting pregnancies and childbirths.
“As the irregular entry and stay of migrants is criminalized in Libya, migrant survivors risk being prosecuted and punished if they approach Libyan authorities and medical institutions.”
Systematically tortured migrants
Generally speaking, migrants in particular have been targeted and there is overwhelming evidence that they have been systematically tortured. The report indicates that the trafficking, enslavement, forced labor, imprisonment, extortion and smuggling of vulnerable migrants generate significant revenue for individuals, groups and public institutions, and encourage the continuation of violations.
Also in the context of detention, State authorities and affiliated entities have repeatedly been implicated in violations and abuses. Detainees were routinely subjected to torture, solitary confinement, held incommunicado and denied adequate access to water, food, toilets, sanitation, light, exercise , medical care, a lawyer and communication with family members.
Faced with the continuation of these abuses, the Fact-Finding Mission considers that the control of immigration by Libya and the European States must be exercised in compliance with their obligations under international law, in particular the principle of non- refoulement, and in accordance with the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
The Mission’s mandate ends as the human rights situation in Libya deteriorates and necessary measures are not taken “to uphold the rule of law and unify the country are far from being achieved” , says the report.
War crimes and crimes against humanity
Especially since in this context of polarization, armed groups that have been implicated in allegations of torture, arbitrary detention, human trafficking and sexual violence still do not have to answer for their actions.
More broadly, the Mission expressed deep concern about the deteriorating human rights situation in that country, concluding that there are reasons to believe that a wide range of war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed by state security forces and armed militias.
According to UN investigators, the practices and patterns of gross violations continue unabated, and there is little evidence that meaningful steps are being taken to reverse this troubling trajectory and provide a remedy for victims.
“Accountability is urgently needed to put an end to this widespread impunity,” said Mohamed Auajjar, the Mission’s President, calling on the Libyan authorities to draw up a human rights action plan and a comprehensive roadmap on transitional justice, and to hold accountable all those responsible for abuses.
To strengthen accountability, the monitoring mechanism will share with the International Criminal Court (ICC) the documents and findings it has collected throughout its mandate, as well as the list of individuals it has identified as potential perpetrators of human rights violations and international crimes.
Distributed by African Media Agency for UN Info
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Source : African Media Agency (AMA)