The government claimed that the country itself has been harmed as the transit place for illegal African migrants.
The Libyan government has rejected responsibility
for the alleged slave trading of trafficked human beings going on in the
country, describing the media coverage as "fierce and blind campaigns".
After a CNN report uncovered the dehumanizing abuse of African migrants in Libya who are being reportedly sold for around N145,000 ($400), the international outrage has grown to deafening heights.
According
to a statement released by the Embassy of Libya in Nigeria, the
Government of National Accord said the issue of human trafficking is one
that the government has been battling for years.
The
government claimed that the country itself has been harmed as the hub
of African migrants trying to sneak their way illegally into Europe
through the Mediterranean sea.
The statement read in part, "Libya
considers such matter, if accurate, is a result of illegal immigration.
Libya is harmed of it, she rejects being held responsible.
"Solving
the issue of illegal immigrants is a collective responsibility to the
countries of origin, transit and destination. Moreover, Libya spends a
lot of money to construct and manage camps to accommodate the immigrants
and facilitate their voluntary return to their countries."
Despite
not accepting culpability for the alleged slave trading, or admitting
it to be the entire truth, the government promised to crack down on
perpetrators.
"The Libyan Authority
has immediately instructed the relevant authority to carry out a
comprehensive investigation on this criminal claim according to the
Libyan law and reveal its findings to local and international community;
apprehend and punish persons responsible for it, be it human
trafficking of immigrants or human trading.
"We emphasize on important issue of saving immigrants from suffering and political execration.
"Libya
and its people are Africans, jointly invests in African countries and
open its border to African brothers, she accepts more than two million
African workers from different countries working in different fields and
legally live in dignity in Libya. Libya has bug investments in African
countries worth over $10 billion."
On Wednesday, November 29, at the European Union-African Union summit in Cote d'Ivoire, African and European leaders agreed on an urgent evacuation plan that would see about 15,000 people flown out of Libya.
Libya
has been a hotbed for illegal migrants for years now as it serves as
the transit hub to the Mediterranean which connects to Europe. Every
year, migrants embark on the perilous journey across the sea to escape
the economic and/or political uncertainties in their countries of
origin.
According to Missing Migrants, an
organization that tracks deaths along migratory routes, at least 2,985
people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa or
the Middle East in 2017 alone.
However, this has not stopped people from trying to make the journey into Europe to seek greener pastures.
African migrants in a boat on the Mediterranean
(Answers Africa)
A
government crackdown on trafficking has resulted in a drastic reduction
in boat journeys which means many are trapped in Libya for a long time
waiting for their turn to travel. The migrants are mostly held in
connecting houses or detention centres that the smugglers control.
This
creates a situation where smugglers are able to exploit the migrants,
especially as soon as they run out of money to pay which means they're
viewed as properties.
Since most
smuggling rings are run by local organised gangs, militias and corrupt
security officials in Libya, many victims are trapped in unfamiliar
surroundings with captors who are not shy to resort to violent means.
Smugglers
are known to blackmail migrants into doing free labour or outrightly
selling them to other militias involved in human trafficking. Other
times, they hold migrants for ransom and call their families to pay
while issuing threats to kill them.
Female
migrants are reportedly in more danger of being used as sex slaves
especially if they don't have anything to pay their captors.
Global outrage
UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, described the slave auction footage as "the most egregious abuses of human rights and may amount to crimes against humanity."
It has also been condemned by Libyan Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed Metig, Guinean President and African Union (AU) Chairman, Alpha Conde, Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou, and the Senegalese government.
Burkina Faso also recalled its ambassador to Libya with President Roch Marc Christian Kabore demanding information from the Libyan government about the fate of some 30 Burkinabe migrants detained in the camps.
President Muhammadu Buhari's Senior Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa condemned the slave auction in a press statement on Monday, November 20.
She described it as "totally
unacceptable, despicable, and inhumane and should be condemned by
anyone who is human and has blood running through their veins."
During the EU-AU summit this week, French President, Emmanuel Macron, called the revelation "a crime against humanity" and urged leaders present to "launch concrete military and policing action on the ground to dismantle those networks."
The government claimed that the country itself has been harmed as the transit place for illegal African migrants.
African migrants in a boat on the Mediterranean
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