U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Andrew Gilmour, expressed his concerns on Wednesday over the situation of illegal immigrants in Libya.
He referred in a statement to tragic stories of many illegal immigrants being subjected to systematic torture and violence. However, he praised the role played by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Libya and its cooperation with African governments, including Niger, to voluntary repatriate refugees.
Gilmour noted there are still thousands of refugees in governmental and non-governmental detention centers in Libya who live in difficult conditions.
Article 33 of the Geneva Convention requires the contracting countries to “not expel or repel a refugee to the borders of territories in which his life or freedom would be threatened because of his race, his religion, his citizenship, his membership in a social group or its political opinions.”
