Libya: Seal Libyan Sites of Rights Violations, Says UN Rights Chief
Geneva — United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has expressed shock after the revelation of gross human rights violations at official and unofficial detention facilities run by Libya’s Stabilization Support Apparatus (SSA) force.
He called for the sealing of the sites and prompt, independent, impartial, and transparent investigations by the Libyan authorities in Tripoli.
Türk said in a June 4 statement that the discoveries confirm established findings by the UN Support Mission in Libya and the former UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission, as well as from various witness accounts.
“Our worst-held fears are being confirmed: dozens of bodies have been discovered at these sites, along with the discovery of suspected instruments of torture and abuse and potential evidence of extrajudicial killings,” he said.
“These sites must be sealed and all potential evidence preserved in support of immediate accountability efforts.”
The SSA was established under Libya’s Presidential Council, which came to power in 2021 with the national unity government of Abdulhamid Dbeibah, through a UN-backed process.
2011 uprising
Since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi, Libya has been a divided and unstable country.
Türk said those responsible for such “atrocious acts” must be brought to justice without delay and under international standards.
He was troubled by reports that Libya’s forensic authorities, mandated to exhume and identify human remains, have not yet been granted access to excavate the sites.
The UN rights chief urged the authorities to grant full and unimpeded access to all sites in Libya, a significant oil producer in the Mediterranean.
Between May 18 and 21, the UN Human Rights Office received information on the excavation of 10 charred bodies at the SSA headquarters in Abu Salim, along with the discovery of a total of 67 bodies in refrigerators at the Abu Salim and Al Khadra hospitals.
Some of the remains are said to be in an advanced state of decomposition due to power outages in the hospital, and the identities of the bodies were not immediately apparent.
A burial site was also reportedly discovered at the SSA-run Tripoli Zoo.
Türk was also distressed that “horrifying images” and video footage of the sites had been shared on social media.
He called on the Libyan authorities to grant the UN access to the sites as part of its mandate to document human rights violations.
The sites were found after the killing of Abdul Ghani al-Kikli, the SSA’s leader, last month.
Ensuing clashes between state security actors and armed groups triggered protests calling for an end to violence in Tripoli, resulting in the deaths of several civilians and a police officer, as well as extensive damage to civilian property, including hospitals.
“We have received reports that these protests were themselves met with unnecessary force, raising serious concerns with respect to the guarantee of the fundamental rights of freedom of expression and assembly, as well as the need to protect civic space,” Türk said.
By Peter Kenny
