Libya has denied any involvement in the human trade and human rights violation allegedly being perpetrated in the country against migrants mostly from Sub-Saharan Africa seeking to cross to Europe.
The Charge d’ Affairs and Ambassador-Designate of Libya to Nigeria, Attia Alkhoder, told a press conference in Abuja at the weekend that his country has no hand in the alleged selling of the migrants and that neither did it violate the rights of the migrants. Alkhoder said Libya cannot be held responsible for the crimes, adding that addressing the issue of illegal immigrants is a collective responsibility to the countries of origin, transit and destination of the migrants.
The war-torn North African country had come under fierce media and political focus, following the exposition by CNN of the alleged trade in human beings who are being sold for between $200 and $400, in some open markets, which drew angry reactions from the international community.
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He noted that the Libyan authorities could not have encouraged such inhuman behaviour because the teachings of Islam and the traditions of Libyan people abhor such heinous behaviour, adding that Libya has continued to show avowed commitment to the international principles of human rights, the international and regional agreement on human rights, especially the international conventions on political and civil rights.
The envoy said that Libya also adheres to the United Nations (UN) agreement against the cross border crimes and its related protocols on human trading, the International Convention on Economic, Social Rights and the African Charter on Human and People’s Right.
He said that Libya’s Government of National Accord has immediately instructed the relevant authorities to carry out a comprehensive investigation on this criminal claim according to Libyan law and reveal its findings to the local and international community to apprehend and punish persons responsible for this human trafficking of immigrants or human trading.
