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Future Leadership Academy of Africa

The UN recognizes crimes against humanity against migrants in Libya

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The UN recognizes crimes against humanity against migrants in Libya: United Nations-backed human rights experts recently said there is evidence that crimes against humanity have been committed against Libyans and migrants in Libya, including women forced into sexual slavery.

The UN recognizes crimes against humanity against migrants in Libya

The investigators mandated by the U.N. Human Rights Council also criticized the European Union for providing support to Libyan forces, which they said contributed to the crimes committed against these human beings.

“….The mission found that crimes against humanity were committed against migrants in detention facilities that are under the actual or nominal control of the illegal migration control agency, the Libyan coast guard and the stability support apparatus. And these bodies have received technical, logistical and financial assistance from the European Union,” said Mohamed Auajjar, chairman of the UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Libya:

The detailed new report, based on interviews with hundreds of people, including migrants and witnesses, concludes a fact-finding mission established nearly three years ago to investigate human rights violations and abuses in the North African country.

“We found cases of slavery, of people who were sold to outside entities, to perform various services, but also sexual slavery of women in and around detention centers. The findings on these two elements are new to the mission and represent, I think, a very significant set of violations that we were not able to establish in our previous reporting cycles,” said Tracy Robinson, a member of the U.N. Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Libya.

Indeed, Here are key findings of the report:

No accountability
Widescale exploitation of migrants
Abuses in detention
Women’s rights going in reverse
Investigation mechanism still needed
Violators should be ostracized
Political deadlock

Finally, Libya, largely lawless, has become the main transit point for people seeking a better life in Europe in recent years, and activists have long denounced the horrific conditions migrants face.

Africa Blog

Human rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo – political and security threats

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Human rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo – political and security threats: The fragile political and security situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo threatens the country’s human rights and fundamental freedoms, a report submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council warns.

Human rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo – political and security threats

The United Nations says some improvements have been made in the DRC’s human rights situation since its last report a year ago, but violations and abuses remain rife.

The report attributes most crimes to armed groups, but notes 44% have been committed by the DRC’s armed forces and the Congolese National Police. That, it says, has led to a resurgence in restrictions on civic and political space.

Christian Jorge Salazar Volkmann, director of the Field Operations and Technical Cooperation Division, says political opponents, journalists and members of civil society have been arbitrarily arrested by the intelligence services.

“I remain concerned about the proliferation of hate speech and messages inciting violence, discrimination and hostilities, particularly in relation with the political competition, the armed conflict in the east and intercommunal conflicts in the rest of the country,” he said.

Volkmann says one year before the next presidential elections, it is important to bring alleged perpetrators of the messages to justice, and prevent the security situation from further deteriorating.

He says the security situation in the DRC’s eastern provinces remains extremely worrying.

The United Nations says armed groups have killed thousands of people

“Measures taken in the implementation of the state of siege, which came into effect on the sixth of May 2021 in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, do not appear to have deterred armed groups from attacking civilians, particularly in internally displaced person sites. Nor have they reduced the number of documented violations and abuses,” Volkmann said.

The United Nations says armed groups have killed thousands of people and forcibly displaced nearly 5.5 million from their homes. The report finds the resurgence of M23 rebels in North Kivu since November 2021 has led to a further deterioration of security.

Volkmann calls for an end to impunity, which he says fuels conflicts in the DRC. He says perpetrators of crimes must be held accountable and brought to justice.

DRC Minister of Human Rights Albert Fabrice Puela says efforts are being made to protect and promote human rights throughout the country. He notes the government was making progress in establishing the transitional justice initiative, adding that the process of addressing past and current human rights violations will help prevent new conflicts and restore peace.