Lobby group condemns Libya for ‘modern day’ slave trade

Dar es Salaam. The ‘slave trade’ which has recently been reported to be taking place in Libya involving illegal migrants has continued to draw global condemnation – this time from Action Aid-International (AAI).

In a statement released on Friday, December 15, AAI has called upon the African Union (AU) to immediately intervene and stop the trade forthwith.

According to a letter sent to the AU chairman, Moussa Faki Mahamat, on Friday, AAI – the international organization that, among other things, fights for human rights – has demanded the taking of a series of initiatives by the African Union.

“Apply sanctions on the government of Libya by immediately suspending Libya from being a member of the AU until all captives and bonded persons on the soil of Libya are released,” read part of the statement released by AAI.

Action Aid-International has also requested each and all African governments “to immediately begin to identify, register and track their citizens in and across Libya and Europe as a first step to having them released from physical or economic captivity and bondage, bringing them home as free citizens.”

AU has also been urged to develop a clear strategy for the rehabilitation of returnees in their respective countries, as well as having a clear strategy to reach more young men and women with programs that protect all their human rights, and guarantee them safety and security.

The statement goes on to ask the AU to provide appropriate information, and an open process for migration, to their citizens who want to migrate.

 “Tragically, many sub-Saharan young people are increasingly getting ensnared into the slave trade in Libya in search of better opportunities in Europe,” said Mr  Jemal Ahmed, the  organization’s regional director for East and Southern Africa.

For his part, AAI’s director for West and Central Africa, Mr Ojobo Atuluku, said “it is a real irony that – while governments often claim they prioritize their youth – the continent is faced with ‘Libyan slavery’ and slave trade challenges!

“The extreme injustices meted out on migrants who use the country as a transit zone to Europe is unacceptable. Slavery and the slave trade (in this day and age) are an outrage,” he said in a statement.