The United Nations has called attention to the human rights and humanitarian situation in Libya following the recent deadly clashes between two armed groups in Tripoli.
Development Diaries reports that at least 55 people were reported killed and over 100 – including civilians – injured in a recent fighting between the Deterrence Apparatus for Combatting Organised Crime and Terrorism (DACOT) and the 444 Brigade.
The Special Representative of the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General for Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, has raised human rights concerns, noting abductions, arbitrary arrests and disappearances in the eastern and western parts of Libya.
Data from the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) shows that as of 05 May, 19,103 people, including 216 women, were detained in 28 official prisons under the Ministry of Justice.
It is also understood that men and women detainees in all parts of the country are reportedly subjected to ill-treatment, sexual violence, torture or sexual exploitation in exchange for water, food or other essential items.
Similarly, the United States 2022 country report on human rights practices in Libya identified recurrent human rights issues. These included unlawful or arbitrary killings; enforced disappearance; torture or other physical abuses perpetrated by armed groups on all sides; and harsh and life-threatening conditions in prison and detention facilities.
In its Freedom in the World 2023 report, Freedom House ranked Libya as ‘not free’, as the country scored ten out of a possible 100.
Development Diaries calls on the government of Libya to halt practices of human rights abuse and ensure the release of those arbitrarily detained.
We also urge leaders to be reminded of their moral and political obligations to end the current conflict and bring about the beginning of a new era marked by democratic elections, peace, and prosperity.
Photo source: United Nations
