UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has expressed deep shock over newly uncovered evidence of serious human rights violations in both official and unofficial detention facilities operated by the Stability Support Apparatus (SSA) in Tripoli, Libya.
In a statement released this week, Türk called for the immediate closure of these sites, urging the Libyan authorities to launch independent, impartial, and transparent investigations into the reported abuses and to preserve all potential evidence in support of swift accountability.
“Our worst fears have been confirmed,” Türk said. “Dozens of bodies have reportedly been found at these facilities. Those responsible for these atrocities must be brought to justice without delay, in accordance with international standards.”
The findings align with previous reports issued by both the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and the former UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission, which documented the existence of secret detention centers and the widespread abuse within them.
Türk also called on Libyan authorities to grant UN investigators full access to the detention sites as part of the UN’s mandate to document human rights violations across the country.
In addition, the High Commissioner urged immediate and comprehensive investigations into the recent killing of the SSA’s leader, as well as all violations committed by any actors, regardless of their political or military affiliations.
He praised efforts by Libya’s Presidential Council’s Ceasefire Committee, facilitated by UNSMIL, to maintain the fragile ceasefire amid rising tensions in Tripoli following these revelations.
The SSA, a powerful armed group nominally affiliated with Libya’s outgoing Government of National Unity, has long faced allegations of extrajudicial practices, arbitrary detention, and abuse.
