The National Commission for Human Rights in Libya (NCHRL) condemned the crimes and grave violations that some African migrants are subjected to in Libya. It refrenced incidents that appeared in a video that activists have been sharing on social media.
In its statement, the commission explained that organized crime groups, traffickers, and human smugglers carry out these violations in order to extort money from the families of these migrants.
At the same time, the NCHRL condemned the European Union’s policies that seek to intercept African migrants and refugees in the Mediterranean and return them to Libya.
The statement singled out the countries of the European Union, primarily Italy, for the moral, humanitarian, and legal responsibility for what it called “the hideous and serious crimes and violations that occurred as a result of European and Italian unilateral policies in dealing with the issue of illegal immigration”.
The NCHRL objected to the migrants being left vulnerable to these crimes and subjected to human trafficking and smuggling networks when returned to Libya.
It called on the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Ministries of Interior and Justice of the Government of National Accord (GNA) to open a comprehensive investigation into the reported violations. It also called for all the necessary measures to be taken to investigate these crimes and refer the perpetrators to the judiciary.