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Migrants saved by private rescue missions are brought to European ports, while those intercepted by the Greek coast guard are taken back to the war-torn country | Photo: ANSA/STRINGER
Migrants saved by private rescue missions are brought to European ports, while those intercepted by the Greek coast guard are taken back to the war-torn country | Photo: ANSA/STRINGER

UN launches new alarm on conditions for migrants in Libya

Published on : 2019/12/26
By ANSA Published on : 2019/12/26

In a statement, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said migrants and refugees in Libya "continue to be routinely subjected to violation and abuses.

The statement stressed that the human rights violations suffered by migrants and refugees in Libya include "extrajudicial and arbitrary killings, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, abduction for ransom, extortion, and forced labor by state officials, traffickers and smugglers."

"We are also concerned that parties to the conflict in Libya continue to store weapons and ammunition in close proximity to civilian locations, particularly detention centers where migrants and refugees are being detained. We remind the parties of their obligation to take all feasible precautions against the effects of attacks," the statement penned by OHCHR spokesman Rupert Colville said.

Nearly 300 migrants killed in Libya in 2019

"We are concerned about the deteriorating human rights situation in Libya, including the impact of the ongoing conflict on civilians, attacks against human rights defenders and journalists, treatment of migrants and refugees, conditions of detention and impunity," the statement further read.

"In 2019, our office along with the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has so far documented at least 284 civilian deaths and 363 injuries as a result of the armed conflict in Libya – an increase of more than a quarter over the number of casualties recorded during the same period last year." The statement underscored the fact that the majority of those deaths were on account of to airstrikes.

Bombing of health care facilities

"During the same period, the World Health Organization (WHO) has documented 61 conflict-related attacks against health care facilities and personnel – a 69% increase compared to the same period in 2018," OHCHR added.

"We have grave concerns about the impact the conflict is having on densely populated areas such as Abu Salim and Al Hadba, where an additional 100,000 civilians are at risk of being displaced, on top of the 343,000 who already have been."


 

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