UPDATE - Migrant auctions in Libya 'crime against humanity'

UPDATES WITH UN BODY CONDEMNATION; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Addis Getachew

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AA) - Trading in human beings as witnessed recently in Libya is a "crime against humanity", the chairman of the African Union (AU) Commission said Tuesday after a recent revelation of a slave trade in Libya shocked the global community.

Speaking at a news conference at the AU headquarters ahead of an AU-EU Summit scheduled for Nov. 29-30 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Moussa Faki Mahamat said an investigation would be carried out by relevant bodies and the perpetrators would be held to account.

According to Mahamat, statelessness in Libya, the absence of the rule of law and military factions had worsened the situation of migrants. He called for a census to be conducted to determine the number of migrants languishing in Libya and to "identify those who want to return".

"I appeal to the African nations to provide logistical support to repatriate the African migrants," he said referring to people who have been stranded inside Libya unable to reach Europe.

Mahamat added that the EU's policy of blocking migrants made the situation difficult.

The African Union will contribute to finding a solution to the Libyan crisis, Mahamat said, hinting that the previous peace agreement signed between the various factions in Libya had already failed.

"The Libyan actors should revisit the agreement," he said.

- Migrants from Gambia

The Foreign Ministry of Gambia – a small western African nation from which many migrants are headed for Libya – issued a statement on Tuesday condemning what it described as "ongoing horrific and indignant reports on the sale of African migrants as slaves in Libya".

The Ministry called on "the highest Libyan authorities, the African Union, the United Nations and the international community to undertake thorough investigations immediately in order to put an end to these gruesome atrocities which have no place in this day and age".

Moreover, Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes, condemned the news on slave markets operating in Libya, describing it “shocking” and “shaming” for the 21st century.

"I join UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in condemning these atrocious acts and I take note of the statement from the Libyan Government that this case will be investigated,” Fedotov said.

According to the International Organization for Migration, Gambia is the second highest "producer" of migrants going through Libya to Italy, next only to Nigeria in terms of percentage.

*Mustapha K Darboe contributed to this story from Banjul, Gambia.