I am horrified at news reports and video footage showing African migrants in Libya reportedly being sold as slaves, said United Nations’ Secretary-General, António Guterres to reporters in New York.
“I abhor these appalling acts and call upon all competent authorities to investigate these activities without delay and to bring the perpetrators to justice. I have asked the relevant United Nations actors to actively pursue this matter”.
“Slavery has no place in our world and these actions are among the most egregious abuses of human rights and may amount to crimes against humanity”. “I urge every nation to adopt and apply the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its protocol on trafficking in persons and I urge the international community to unite in fighting this scourge”.
“This also reminds us of the need to address migration flows in a comprehensive and humane manner: through development cooperation aiming at addressing its root causes, through a meaningful increase of all the opportunities for legal migration and through an enhanced international cooperation in cracking down on smugglers and traffickers and protecting the rights of their victims”, he concluded.
The UN Security Council has condemned human trafficking in Libya as all the member states’ representatives attending the meeting called for punishing the individuals responsible for such heinous violations and bringing them to The Hague.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, said about 117.000 illegal immigrants are detained in Libya, demanding support for the coast guard in order to confront the human trafficking operations, saying all the 15 members affected by the issue should create a monitoring system, adding that the solution must be political and security-oriented.
The Director-General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) William Lacy Swing said over 6.000 people drowned off Libyan shores since the start of 2017, adding that Libya should cooperate regarding the detention centres.
