The UN human rights chief has announced that his office is investigating reports of a mass grave in the desert along the Libya-Tunisia border. This follows the discovery of at least 65 migrant bodies at another site earlier this year. In his speech, Volker Turk condemned the widespread violations against migrants and refugees in Libya, a major transit route through the Sahara Desert and across the southern Mediterranean.
Turk highlighted that abuses against migrants are being committed on a large scale with impunity by both state and non-state actors. He listed crimes such as human trafficking, torture, forced labour, extortion, starvation, detention, and mass expulsions. Turk urged Libyan authorities to promptly respond to the inquiries and thoroughly investigate these crimes. He addressed these concerns in a speech to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, focusing on Libya’s human rights record over the past year.
Turk did not provide further details on the suspected identity of the mass grave victims or how the site was found. A spokesperson from his office stated that they have not received information from the authorities but are continuing to follow up on the matter. In March, the U.N.-affiliated International Organization for Migration reported the discovery of at least 65 migrant bodies at a mass grave site in southwest Libya’s al-Jahriya valley, about 420 km south of Tripoli.
In May, the National Commission for Human Rights in Libya (NCHRL) condemned Tunisia for deporting irregular migrants and asylum seekers to Libyan border areas. NCHRL stated that these migrants had been residing in Tunisia for months or years before being expelled, accusing Tunisian authorities of neglecting their humanitarian and legal responsibilities.
The NCHRL also criticized the collusion between Libya’s Interior Minister Emad Al-Trabelsi, the head of the Border Guard apparatus, and Tunisian authorities. The Commission called for a comprehensive investigation and accountability for these actions. It urged international intervention to secure the rights of migrants and asylum seekers and pressed Tunisian authorities to treat migrants with dignity and humanity in accordance with their international obligations.
Last December, international humanitarian organizations reported that at least 5,500 migrants were pushed from Tunisia towards Libya’s borders, with another 3,000 sent towards Algeria since June. According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), over 100 migrants have died in the Libyan-Tunisian desert this summer, as collective expulsion operations continue. Many of those expelled were arrested while attempting to migrate to Europe, with most intercepted near Sfax, close to the Italian island of Lampedusa.
