UN Presses for Action on Migrant Mass Grave at Libya-Tunisia Border

The U.N. human rights chief is investigating reports of a mass grave found at the Libya-Tunisia border, following another site with 65 bodies discovered earlier this year. Volker Turk condemned rampant abuses involving migrants in Libya, urging authorities to investigate crimes such as trafficking, torture, and forced labor.

The U.N. human rights chief announced on Tuesday that his office is investigating reports of a mass grave in the desert at the Libya-Tunisia border. This comes after at least 65 bodies of migrants were discovered at another site earlier this year.

In a statement, Volker Turk condemned widespread human rights violations against migrants and refugees in Libya, a critical transit route through the Sahara Desert and the southern Mediterranean. Turk highlighted that abuses including human trafficking, torture, and forced labor are being committed with impunity by both state and non-state actors.

'I urge the authorities to respond swiftly to our inquiries and thoroughly investigate these crimes,' Turk said to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. He provided no further details about the possible identity of the mass grave victims or the discovery method. A spokesperson from Turk's office noted, 'We have not received information from the authorities but we are continuing to follow up on this.'

In March, at least 65 migrant bodies were found in a mass grave in the al-Jahriya valley, southwest Libya, 420 km south of Tripoli, as reported by the International Organization for Migration. Both Libya and Tunisia are critical partners in the European Union's objective to control migrant flows from North Africa to southern Europe.