Geneva: The United Nations’ human rights chief announced on Tuesday that the organization is actively investigating reports of a mass grave located in the desert along the Libya-Tunisia border. This follows the grim discovery earlier this year of at least 65 migrant bodies at another site.
Volker Turk, in a speech, condemned widespread abuses against migrants and refugees in Libya, situated along a perilous transit route spanning the Sahara Desert and the southern Mediterranean. He highlighted severe violations including human trafficking, torture, forced labor, extortion, starvation, arbitrary detention, and mass expulsions, attributing these crimes to both state and non-state actors operating with impunity.
Addressing the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, Turk called for swift action from authorities to respond to their inquiries and thoroughly investigate these crimes. He provided no further details regarding the identity of the victims in the suspected mass grave or the method of discovery. A spokesperson from Turk’s office affirmed ongoing efforts to gather information despite no communication from local authorities.
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Earlier this year, the International Organization for Migration reported the discovery of at least 65 migrant bodies at a mass grave site in southwest Libya’s al-Jahriya valley, approximately 420 km (260 miles) south of Tripoli.
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Libya and Tunisia play critical roles as partners in the European Union’s initiatives to control the migrant flow across the Mediterranean from North Africa to southern Europe.
