UN experts cite abuse reports involving migrants at Tunisia-Libya border

UN experts voiced alarm on 16 July over reports that thousands of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa may have been subjected to arbitrary detention, collective expulsion and human trafficking on the Tunisia-Libya border and in Libya.

The experts said they were seriously concerned by reports that more than 7,400 people had been affected since at least June 2023 by Tunisian security forces, the Libyan state and non-state actors.

In a statement, the experts said testimonies indicated that detainees had been beaten and abused by uniformed personnel using tasers, iron bars, dogs and threats of gunfire as intimidation and punishment. They said migrants, refugees and asylum seekers were reported to have faced repeated searches, humiliation and the seizure of personal belongings, including mobile phones and identity papers.

The experts said the people affected had reportedly been denied proper food and medical care. They also said women were reported to have been raped and men severely assaulted.

The experts said they were extremely concerned about reports of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in detention in Tunisia and Libya. They said the reported violence and neglect had resulted in deaths and enforced disappearances, and that mass graves may exist near military installations in Libya.

The statement said men, women, pregnant women, couples and children, including some unaccompanied children, had been treated as commodities and trafficked across the border in exchange for cash, hashish or other forms of payment.

The 14 experts act under a mandate from the United Nations Human Rights Council but do not speak for the United Nations. They said the allegations pointed to grave violations of international human rights law, international criminal law, international humanitarian law and international refugee law.

The experts urged Tunisia and Libya to carry out prompt, independent and impartial investigations, ensure accountability for those responsible and provide effective access to remedies for victims.