Libya: According to the UN, migrant women were raped in exchange for food

Murders, torture, slavery ... migrants who are systematically detained in Libya are victims of atrocious abuses, in particular women who are raped in exchange for food and water, denounced UN investigators on Wednesday .

Migrant women, including minors, are particularly vulnerable to this sexual violence, even if men are also victims, and say they have been "forced to have sex (...) in exchange for food or other essential products ".

"The known risk of sexual violence in Libya is such that some migrant women and girls have a contraceptive implant inserted before traveling there to avoid an unwanted pregnancy due to this violence", indicate the authors of the report.

A migrant, who had been held captive in Ajdabiya, described to them how her captors demanded sex in exchange for water, water she needed for her sick six-month-old child.

The fact-finding mission, created in June 2020 by the UN Human Rights Council, is responsible for documenting the abuses committed in Libya since 2016. Its mandate is ending but the group of African countries has filed a draft resolution to extend it for nine months. It will be discussed at the end of next week.

Last October, investigators assured that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Libya since 2016, including in prisons and against migrants. However, the list of the alleged perpetrators of these atrocities remains confidential.

The Editorial Board (with AFP)