U.N. investigators are seeking to verify reports of mass graves thought to contain the corpses of migrants at a trafficking hub in Libya, they said in a report on Monday that also documented incidents of rape, murder and torture.
On the sidelines of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, head of the Fact-Finding Mission on Libya, Mohamed Auajjar, told journalists on Monday that investigators had uncovered further evidence of serious rights violations, which they first made public last October.
In its previous report, the Mission found that numerous violations against migrants, refugees and asylum seekers may amount to crimes against humanity. It has since continued to document consistent patterns of murder, torture, inhumane acts, rape, persecution and enslavement.
Among the investigators’ other findings, they also highlighted how people had been reportedly detained for expressing “views about the elections, or support for candidates”.
Equally worrying was the “ongoing impunity for attacks against women politicians, which undermines women’s meaningful political participation”, Mr. Auajjar said, adding that there had been attacks on civil society organizations, on activists, on human rights defenders and on journalists”.
Human rights violations are impeding the transition to peace, democracy and the rule of law in #Libya, fact-finding experts say.
PRESS RELEASE ▶️ https://t.co/S12VCin1HZ pic.twitter.com/iQK0zHAHJW
— United Nations Human Rights Council (@UN_HRC) March 28, 2022