The draft conference, which Sky News Arabia obtained a copy of, stated that the participants are responsible and committed to condemning, facilitating, or facilitating all violations and abuses against migrants, smuggling and human trafficking, as the draft hinted at imposing penalties up to travel prevention and asset seizure.
The statement welcomed the work of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya and the United Nations agencies, funds and programs in coordinating and supporting the provision of humanitarian assistance and protection to refugees, migrants and asylum seekers, and noted the awareness of the participating countries of the efforts made in resolving migration-related issues despite the challenges on the ground.
The draft called for full implementation of existing procedures and reporting of violations to the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee on Libya.
A call to respect the law
The draft stated that all violations committed against migrants, their smuggling and human trafficking, as well as all other violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in Libya, which constitute a threat to international peace and security, may be the basis for renewing Security Council sanctions against some officials.
It called on the Libyan authorities and all parties in Libya to fully respect international law; Especially international human rights law, including those relating to the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure.
At the end of the draft’s talk about migration, the importance of access to all places of forced detention for migrants and the need for humanitarian aid to arrive, with full respect for the principles of humanity, impartiality, impartiality and independence in accordance with international human rights and humanitarian law, was emphasized.
Since the overthrow of the regime of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has witnessed the largest wave of irregular migration in its modern history, given the country’s location close to Europe, in light of the exploitation of the chaos that has worsened for years.
bleak situation
In July, Amnesty International issued a report entitled “Nobody Will Look for You: Forcibly Returned from the Sea to Arbitrary Detention in Libya”, which spoke of detainees being subjected to sexual extortion, and of hundreds of forcibly disappeared, while two women attempted suicide.
And the German magazine “Der Spiegel” had previously published a report in 2019 conveying testimonies from migrants who arrived in Europe, if they confirmed that they had been blackmailed in order to offer a ransom for the release of their relatives detained in the camps.
This extortion, which the magazine described as a “massive blackmail trade” in Libya, is based on militia members deliberately torturing detainees, making them contact their relatives in Europe to complain about their bad conditions and the atrocities they are going through, and then the gangs asking for ransom until the suffering stops.
The human rights activist in the field of illegal immigration, Asmaa Zughaib, commented that these measures must be accompanied by strong supervision by the United Nations and the speedy inspection of the migrant camps to reveal the conditions, as all the testimonies transmitted by internal migrants who managed to escape reveal the occurrence of disasters within those camps.
Zughaib added that it is important for the Paris conference to adopt such a clause in its drafts and to threaten to impose sanctions.
Zughaib indicated that the sanctions for freezing assets and banning travel may not be sufficient, calling for the need to put in place more stringent sanctions; Such as appearing before the International Criminal Court or ensuring the trial of those involved inside Libya.
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