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Updated November 24th, 2021 at 07:48 IST

Human rights activists demand ICC probe into abuses against migrants in Libya

The human rights activists group stated in the file that "enslavement, extortion, and torture has become a major source of cash in Libya's conflict economy."

Reported by: Anwesha Majumdar
Human rights activists
Image: AP | Image:self
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A group of human rights activists on Tuesday, 23 November, presented a file of evidence to the International Criminal Court (ICC) demanding a probe into abuses against immigrants who attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe from Libya. They claimed that these abuses "may amount to crimes against humanity," AP reported. The private submission of the file is the recent effort to have ICC investigators look into the mistreatment of migrants who cross the Mediterranean Sea in small smugglers' vessels to reach Europe. According to The Hill, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, the International Federation for Human Rights, and Lawyers for Justice in Libya have unitedly filed the claim.   

The human rights activists group stated in the file that "enslavement, extortion, and torture has become a major source of cash in Libya's conflict economy." Interviews with 14 abuse survivors, who are currently out of Libya with the help of the United Nations and other organisations, were used to compile the report file, The Hill reported. The report further stated that immigrants in Libya are subjected to a continuous cycle of abuse that is both common and systematic.   

'The abuses suffered by migrants and refugees in Libya trigger ICC jurisdiction'

According to a document filed to the ICC, activists claimed that prosecutors should examine armed organisations, militias, gangs and Libyan state actors for offenses like arbitrary arrest, abuse, murders, persecution, sexual abuse, as well as enslavement. Further, it identifies 19 persons, including militia commanders, as possible suspects for migrant abuses. 

The International Federation for Human Rights' Dorine Llanta stated, "The extreme scale, systemic nature, and seriousness of the abuses suffered by migrants and refugees in Libya trigger ICC jurisdiction. Our analysis of reliable open-source information and survivor testimonies clearly shows that many of these abuses may amount to crimes against humanity,” AP reported. 

It is to mention that the ICC had launched an investigation into Libya a decade ago, following former ruler Moammar Gadhafi's deadly crackdown on the opposition. The court listed the longstanding ruler as a suspect, but he was caught and executed by insurgents before he could be brought to trial in The Hague. In addition to this, Chantal Meloni, Senior Legal Advisor at the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights believed that only the ICC can handle the complexities of the criminal system in Libya, which is designed to exploit the human misery of refugees and migrants, as per AP.  

(Image: AP)

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Published November 24th, 2021 at 07:48 IST

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