UN, US Sanction Libyan Official Accused of Severe Abuse of Migrants

The UN Security Council and United States have imposed sanctions on a Libyan official, Osama al-Kuni, over allegations of human rights violations against migrants at a detention center he heads. The alleged violations at al-Nasr Martyrs detention center include torture, sexual and gender-based violence and human trafficking. The center is located in Zawiya, in western Libya, the home of two notorious human traffickers, Abdel-Rahman Milad and militia leader Mohammed Kachlaf, who were themselves sanctioned by the UNSC in 2018. The UN sanctions committee said in a statement on Tuesday that al-Kuni “acted for or on behalf of or at the direction” of Milad and Kachlaf. The US Treasury Department said al-Kuni or people under his direction “have been involved in or facilitated the killing, exploitation, abuse, and extortion of migrants at the detention center, including through sexual violence, beatings, starvation, and other mistreatment.” Guards at detention centers in Libya frequently subject migrants to beatings, torture, and sexual exploitation, and attempt to extort money from relatives to buy the detainees’ freedom. UN investigators have termed the abusive conditions in these centers a crime against humanity.