Libya rejects UN report on violations of migrant rights

TRIPOLI, Libya

Libya’s Tripoli-based government has rejected a UN report about violations of migrant rights in the war-torn country.

A report by a UN fact-finding mission cited evidence on crimes against humanity committed against migrants in Libya, including women being forced into sex slavery.

The UN mission said its investigators collected nearly 2,800 items of information documenting numerous cases of abuse against migrants, including arbitrary detention, murder, torture, rape, enslavement, sexual slavery, extrajudicial killings, and enforced disappearances.

In a statement, the Libyan Foreign Ministry called on the UN mission to present its information about the victims of violence and sex slavery to the authorities.

The ministry said the UN report casts doubts on the ability of the Libyan institutions to deal with the issue professionally.

“The situation in the detention centers where migrants are held requires international support, and not to leave the Libyan government alone on this issue,” it added.

Libya is considered a main transit point for migrants on their way to Europe seeking a better life.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara