Libya is facing mounting international pressure to close its migrant detention centers, following UN reports of torture, abuse, and even killings inside the facilities.
The calls came during a United Nations meeting in Geneva, where several countries — including the United Kingdom, Spain, Norway, and Sierra Leone — voiced deep concern over the treatment of migrants in Libya, a key transit hub for thousands of Africans fleeing war and poverty toward Europe.
These nations also demanded unrestricted access for the UN and humanitarian organizations to mass graves, after a UN agency revealed that some migrant bodies found this year bore gunshot wounds.
Libya’s acting foreign minister, Mohamed Taher Salem al-Baour, acknowledged that “migrants represent a heavy burden on the state” but emphasized the government’s ongoing efforts to uphold human rights despite the extreme challenges of this transitional period.
