Libya was urged at a United Nations meeting in Geneva on Tuesday to shut down detention centers where migrants and refugees face torture, abuse, and killings, according to human rights groups. Several countries are including Britain, Spain, Norway and Sierra Leone, voiced grave concerns about the treatment of the migrants in Libya, a key transit point for Africans fleeing conflict and poverty en route to Europe. Reports revealed that some migrants have been held in warehouses controlled by traffickers, where they endured violence and extortion.
Norway’s ambassador, Tormod Endresen, called for protection of vulnerable migrants and an end to arbitrary detentions. Britain’s rights ambassador Eleanor Sanders and emphasized the need for unrestricted UN access to mass grave sites where some migrant bodies bore gunshot wounds.
In an open letter, rights groups urged Libya to reform, highlighting armed groups’ impunity and widespread abuses. Libya, torn between eastern and western factions since the 2011 uprising, acknowledged the burden migrants place on the divided state.
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