The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has expressed deep concern regarding the distressing discovery of 65 migrant bodies in mass graves in Libya’s southwest region. The UN migration agency suggests that the migrants may have perished during smuggling operations through the desert.
This grim finding contributes to a worrisome tally of 3,129 recorded deaths and disappearances along the Mediterranean route by the Missing Migrants Project in 2023. According to an IOM spokesperson, each report of a missing migrant or a loss of life signifies a family in mourning and seeking answers.
In response to these tragic findings, the criminal investigations body in Libya revealed that DNA samples were taken from the unidentified migrants before reburial in pre-designated graves, to facilitate further investigations and analysis.
According to a study by the IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix, Libya hosts 705,746 migrants from over 44 different countries, with around 5,000 of them detained in government-run facilities. The IOM Libya Crisis Prevention Plan 2024 outlines the substantial role of poor governance and a relaxed observance of the rule of law in the continuing rights violations of migrants in the country.
Additionally, IOM noted reports of 1,256 individuals missing at sea and 947 deaths on the central Mediterranean migration route from Libya between January and November of 2023. More than 900 African migrants were shuttled by Tunisia to a buffer zone along the border between Tunisia and Libya – over a quarter of these migrants were sent to Libya, where they faced imprisonment and expulsion. In the wake of these expulsions, Libyan officials reported finding at least 27 deaths near the border in August.
The revelation of the mass grave follows a Security Council meeting in February where the UN and various nations expressed alarm over the increasing human rights abuses directed at migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in Libya. Special Representative for Libya and the head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, emphasized that Libyan security forces had unlawfully incarcerated over 60 individuals, including minors. Bathily urged Libyan authorities to guarantee open and unhindered access to those needing protection and to conduct unbiased investigations into any allegations of abuse and violations at detention centers.