By Libya Herald reporters.
Tripoli, 24 April 2015:
The UN has slammed the recent murders in Libya and the drowning of hundreds of . . .[restrict]refugees saying it is also gravely concerned at the conditions in which detained migrants are being kept in Libyan compounds.
High Commissioner Navi Pillay’s spokesman Rupert Colville said today: “Successive horrific incidents this week have illustrated the severity of the human rights situation in Libya”. The UN had been shocked by what had happened.
He added that UNSMIL was following up on these cases and seeking further information. The organisation also deplored the Derna violence that led to the massacre of the Harir Al-Mansouris, three of whose members, it said, had been hanged publicly.
Colville also said that UNSMIL human rights specialists had visited migrant detention centres and not liked what they had seen. They were deeply unhappy with conditions. These included chronic overcrowding, poor sanitation and health care and insufficient food.
Inspectors had “also received consistent reports of physical or verbal mistreatment, labour exploitation, sexual violence, and confiscation of identity documents” he said.
Expressing their sympathy for all families of those who have lost their lives, Colville urged that all possible steps be taken to protect civilians, in particular migrants and refugees and those at risk of attack on the basis of religious, national, racial or political grounds.
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