A group of United Nations (UN) human rights experts has voiced deep alarm over a highly organised, alleged system of mass arbitrary detention, collective expulsion, and human trafficking targeting sub-Saharan migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers along the Tunisia-Libya border.

According to the experts, more than 7 400 people have fallen victim to these systematic abuses since June 2023. The panel flagged evidence pointing to the direct involvement of Tunisian security forces working alongside both state and non-state actors in Libya.

Testimonies gathered from the border region describe a horrific pattern of violence. Detainees, including unaccompanied children and pregnant women, are reportedly beaten with iron bars, shocked with tasers, and threatened with gunfire by uniformed personnel. Rights investigators also revealed that victims are routinely stripped of their phones and identity papers, denied food and medical care, and that women are being subjected to rape.

Alarmingly, the UN panel stated that migrants are being treated as literal commodities. Security forces and armed groups are allegedly trafficking individuals across the border in exchange for cash, fuel, and drugs. Once transferred, victims are funneled into forced labor, sexual slavery, or held for ransom.

The experts warned that the ongoing violence and deliberate neglect have already resulted in numerous deaths and enforced disappearances, raising fears that mass graves may exist near military installations in Libya. The UN team called on both North African nations to immediately halt the expulsions and protect vulnerable transit populations.

–ChannelAfrica/UN