An independent United Nations fact-finding mission concluded Monday in a new report that Libyan security forces, as well as armed militias, have committed »war crimes» and »crimes against humanity» against migrants who have been »systematically» tortured and suffered sexual slavery.
The report directly targets agencies such as the Deterrence Apparatus for Combating Organized Crime and Terrorism in Libya (DACOT), the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF), the Internal Security Agency (ISA) or the Stability Support Apparatus (SSA).
»The human rights situation in Libya is deteriorating, parallel state authorities are emerging and the legislative, executive and security sector reforms needed to uphold the rule of law and unify the country are far from being implemented,» the report reads.
The chairman of the independent mission, Mohamed Auajjar, said that »urgent» accountability was needed to put an end to »widespread impunity». He also called on the Libyan authorities to implement a ‘road map’ focused on victims and transitional justice.
In particular, the report lists numerous cases of human rights violations, such as arbitrary arrests, killings, rapes, enslavement, extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances mainly committed against migrants trying to cross the country on their way to Europe, but there are also cases of serious abuses against Libyan citizens.
Many victims, the text denounces, have not reported for fear of reprisals, arrests, extortion or lack of confidence in the Libyan judicial system. The mission has determined that these rights violations were committed in official detention centers and secret prisons.
The attacks against, among others, human rights defenders, women’s rights activists, journalists and civil society associations have created an atmosphere of fear that has driven people into self-censorship, hiding or exile,» the report notes.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
