Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, announced on Tuesday, July 9th, that his office is investigating a mass grave of migrant bodies found at the Tunisia-Libya border. Türk condemned the ongoing abuses suffered by Sub-Saharan migrants traveling through Libya.
In 2023, Libya was home to more than 700,000 migrants, many of whom fell victim to human trafficking, torture, forced labor, and extortion. This recent discovery follows a similar exhumation in March, where 65 migrant bodies were found.
The ongoing investigation into this new mass grave reinforces Volker Türk’s accusations of increasing atrocities against Sub-Saharan migrants in Libya.
Many migrants arrive from Chad, Sudan, Niger, and Egypt, hoping to reach the Mediterranean coasts from Libya or Tunisia. The UN Human Rights Office highlights the blatant impunity of those perpetrating these abuses and the existence of armed interception systems on land and sea, coupled with mass expulsions.
These abuses sparked controversy in Tunisia when hundreds of migrants were expelled to the Libyan and Algerian borders following a security campaign in 2023.
From the European side, Italy reports a significant decrease in arrivals from Tunisian and Libyan coasts, claiming a 60% reduction compared to the previous year. In 2023, the European Union renewed a controversial agreement with the Libyan coast guard for two more years, providing financial and material support to combat irregular migration.
This ongoing crisis underscores the urgent need for comprehensive international efforts to address and mitigate the severe human rights violations faced by migrants in this region.