UN officials call for refugees, migrants to be freed from detention
(VOVWORLD) - UN refugee and migrant chiefs said in a joint statement on Friday that 5,600 refugees and migrants currently held in centers across Libya should be freed in an orderly manner and their protection guaranteed.
 UNHCR Chief of Mission for Libya, Jean-Paul Cavalieri, takes statements from officials, refugees and migrants after arriving at Tajoura detention center on July 3, 2019 (Photo: UNHCR) |
The call came in response to the July 3 airstrikes on the Tajoura Detention Centre in the eastern suburbs of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, which killed more than 50 migrants and refugees and injured more than 130, despite the location of the center being known by both sides of the ongoing conflict in Libya.
António Vitorino, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, insisted that the international community should consider the protection of the human rights of migrants and refugees a core element of its engagement in Libya, pointing out that they have appealed to the European Union and African Union to prevent a repeat of the tragedy.