2024-07-09 15:55:44
The High Commissioner for Human Rights confirmed, on Tuesday, in a speech before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, that his office is following up on reports of the discovery of a mass grave in the desert on the Libyan-Tunisian border, and in a speech he denounced the successive and worrying developments in Libya.
“I call on the authorities to respond quickly to our inquiries and to investigate these crimes thoroughly,” Volker Türk said.
He denounced the “widespread” violations against migrants and refugees, stressing that “the families of those killed have the right to know the truth,” according to Reuters.
The International Organization for Migration said that in March, the bodies of at least 65 migrants were discovered in a mass grave in southwestern Libya.
The UN agency reported at the time that “the circumstances of their deaths and their nationalities are not yet known, but it is believed that they died during their smuggling operation across the desert,” according to Agence France-Presse.
Libya has become a hub for tens of thousands of migrants seeking to reach Europe by sea.
Many migrants try to reach Europe from Libya, risking their lives. But thousands have been living in Libya for years illegally, working in agriculture, construction and trade, especially around the capital.
The number of migrants who have died trying to reach Europe by sea this year has reached nearly 2,000, experts from the UN’s International Organization for Migration said.
The International Organization for Migration says that data collected by the United Nations between May and June 2023 indicates the presence of more than 700,000 migrants on Libyan territory.
In 2023, about 3,105 migrants died or went missing after trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe, according to the latest figures from the International Organization for Migration, a United Nations agency.
Last updated: July 9, 2024 – 13:37
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2024-07-09 15:55:44