Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Israeli occupation is besieging many areas in northern Gaza, especially the areas surrounding the Indonesian and Al-Awda hospitals
Al Mayadeen correspondent: The fifth round of Iran-US talks ended after three and a half hours.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The fifth round of indirect talks between Iran and the United States has begun at the headquarters of the Sultanate of Oman's mission in Rome.
Turkish public prosecutor has issued arrest warrants for 63 active-duty military personnel over alleged links to a group accused of orchestrating the 2016 coup attempt
Kremlin says no agreements yet on next platform for Russia-Ukraine negotiations
YAF spokesperson: We targeted Lydd Airport, known as Ben-Gurion Airport, with a hypersonic missile
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Lebanon: Two Israeli airstrikes targeted Wadi al-Aziziya in the Tyre district.
CIA spokesperson says law enforcement responded to a security incident outside CIA headquarters.
Brigadier General Saree: Operation achieved its targeted successfully, forcing millions of Zionists to flee to shelters, and halted air traffic at the airport.
YAF spokesperson: We've executed a military operation targeting Ben Gurion Airport in occupied Yafa with ballistic hypersonic missile.

EU funds facilitated torture, sex slavery in Libya, UN finds

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 29 Mar 2023 01:21
  • 4 Shares
4 Min Read

The United Nations has found that the funds from the European Union have facilitated the torture of migrants and sex slavery in Libya.

  • x
  • Migrants aboard a rubber boat end up in the water while others cling on to a centifloat before being rescued by a team of the Sea Watch-3, around 35 miles away from Libya, October 18, 2021 (AP)
    Migrants aboard a rubber boat end up in the water while others cling on to a centifloat before being rescued by a team of the Sea Watch-3, around 35 miles away from Libya, October 18, 2021 (AP)

Funding from the European Union has facilitated the commission of abuses against migrants in Libya, exposing them to systemic torture and sex slavery, a United Nations investigation said Monday.

The investigation expressed concern over the worsening human rights situation in the country of conflict-torn North Africa, warning that the European Union was helping some groups abusing migrants.

"We're not saying that the EU and its member states have committed these crimes," investigator Chaloka Beyani told reporters. "The support given has aided and abetted the commission of the crimes."

The UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Libya concluded that there were "grounds to believe a wide array of war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed by state security forces and armed militia groups." 

"Migrants, in particular, have been targeted and there is overwhelming evidence that they have been systematically tortured" in detention centers, it said.

Mission chairman Mohamed Auajjar said investigators found crimes against humanity had been committed against migrants in detention centers under the control of Libya's Directorate for Combating Illegal Migration (DCMI) and the country's coast guard.

Auajjar, Morocco's former justice minister, revealed that the entities in question receive technical, logistic, and financial support from the EU and its member states for the interception and return of migrants.

Furthermore, Beyani stressed that it was "clear that the DCIM has responsibility for multitudes of crimes against humanity in the detention centers that they run. The support given to them by the EU has facilitated this."

The United Nations said there were reasonable grounds to believe that migrants were suffering from sex slavery, a crime against humanity.

Related News

Trump turning Central America into major transit route for US migrants

New Zealand minister under fire over 'send Mexicans home' remark

Mission member Tracy Robinson said they also uncovered slavery in general.

"We have found instances of enslavement of persons who have been traded to outside entities to perform various services, but also sexual slavery of women in and around detention centers," she underlined.

According to the investigators, there are stark concerns about the deprivation of liberty of Libyans and migrants alike throughout the country in what could amount to crimes against humanity.

The investigators have found various cases of "arbitrary detention, murder, torture, rape, enslavement, sexual slavery, extrajudicial killing, and enforced disappearance, confirming their widespread practice in Libya."

The country has been suffering from an escalating political crisis with a dispute between two governments. The first was headed by Fathi Bashagha, who was granted confidence last March by the Libyan House of Representatives, in Tobruk, the far east of the country.

The second is the Libyan National Unity Government, which was formed on March 10, 2021, following political agreements sponsored by the United Nations, and is headed by Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, who refuses to hand over power except through presidential and parliamentary elections.

The Libyan people have been robbed of their right to enjoy their country's resources after NATO launched a military attack on the country in 2011.

NATO's international war was concocted by Brussels and Washington, subsequently leading to the collapse of Libya as a whole.

In November, British oil giants BP and Shell decided to return to the oil-rich north African country just over a decade after the UK took part in destabilizing the nation with the 2011 military intervention.

Control of oil resources, infrastructure, and revenues has been a key driver of the long-running conflict, involving multiple foreign powers and militias.

  • Migration Crisis
  • Libya
  • United Nations
  • European Union

Most Read

YAF say struck 'Israel's' Ben-Gurion Airport with missiles, drones

YAF say struck 'Israel's' Ben Gurion Airport with missiles, drones

  • MENA
  • 18 May 2025
Rachel Accurso criticized for speaking out on Gaza children crisis

Ms. Rachel accused of antisemitism for speaking out for Gaza children

  • Politics
  • 20 May 2025
Martyrs, injuries in violent Israeli bombardment of southern Gaza

Israeli operation fails; IOF launch violent strikes on Gaza

  • Politics
  • 19 May 2025
The spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, giving a statement on Friday, April 11, 2025 (Yemeni Military Media)

Yemeni Armed Forces declare Haifa Port under naval siege

  • Politics
  • 20 May 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
Eric Coquerel, a parliament member of the far-left La France Insoumise (The Unbowed) party attends a demonstration outside Sciences-Po university in Paris, Friday, April 26, 2024 (AP)
Politics

French teacher suspended for minute of silence in solidarity with Gaza

Palestinian landlord Akram Sabra, 60, stands next to a vehicle burnt under attack by Israeli settlers overnight, in the West Bank village of Bruqin, near Salfit Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Politics

Israeli settlers torch homes, vehicles in West Bank village

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, left, reads a paper in a meeting with his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr Albusaidi at the Omani Embassy in Rome during the fifth round of Iran-US negotiations, Friday, May 23, 2025 (Iran Foreign Ministry)
Politics

Iran-US talks in Rome yield limited progress, Omani FM says

AP
Politics

EU sought ship, port, energy ties in nixed proposal to Trump: Report

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS