We don’t sell slaves-Libyan Charge d’Affaires to Ghana

The Libyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs has rejected claims that the country is engaged in slavery. The Charge d’Affaires to Ghana Salah Al. Kony denounced says the video on the purported slave trade in Libya making rounds not only false but unfortunate.

Last week, CNN published a report on modern slavery in Libya, the video that reportedly was shot in August depicts a man openly auctioning African migrants for farm work.
“Big strong boys,” the man said in the video, according to a CNN narrator. “400 … 700 … 800,” he called out prospective buyers. The men were eventually sold for about $400 each, CNN reported. But the national accord to Ghana Salah Al. Kony condemned the action, describing it as inhumane and contradictory the culture and heritage of the Libyan people.
He announced that the publication is currently under investigation by the concerned Libyan authorities, thus persons found culpable will be punished if the act is confirmed by the investigations. “All those found culpable Will be prosecuted for their involvement in these heinous crimes,” he said.

The ministry expresses its full explicit commitment to the provisions of the charter of the United Nations in this regard and affirms its commitment to implement its national laws and legislation which criminalize human trafficking, slavery, and servitude.

His Excellency Mr. Salah in a press briefing at the Libyan embassy in Accra said “at a time when Libya is well aware of its targeting by some regional parties to make it a breeding ground for immigrants, it warns, as it has repeatedly done, that superficial and useless solutions is hampering its efforts to eliminate this phenomenon and opens the way for organized criminal gangs to engage in criminal activities”. “We also express our great astonishment by the classification of these parties as a region of conflict and instability while trying to make them a refuge for large numbers of immigrants which raises many questions” he bemoaned.

The Crisis

Mr Salah added, that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with reference to the above, warns of the seriousness of the current situation exploited by criminal gangs in the absence of the spirit of collective common responsibility to obtain a resource to finance their criminal and terrorist schemes through migration intermediaries to move migrants to the other side of the Mediterranean or joining them as fighters terrorists and mercenaries, and we call upon the international community to endeavor, in spirit of responsibility and joint cooperation, to assist Libyan in confronting this imminent threat to its social and cultural heritage and to humanity by adopting effective measures for the cause of migration rather than exploiting such unfortunate events to put Libya’s name on behalf of some parties in order to cover up its inability to deal with this phenomenon so as to achieve gains that are, in fact contrary to the truth and logic we live today.

While it affirms stands of the Government and people of the state of Libya against these inhuman actions, the Ministry notes, that for many years, it has advocated effective policy in dealing with these phenomena by supporting institutional capacity-building and enterprise development in source countries to eliminate illegal migration, smuggling of migrants and trafficking of human beings as stated in the Tripoli Joint Declaration (Africa & European Union) in 2006 ,and calls upon its regional and international partners and friends to cooperate positively and constructively in addressing these negative phenomena with responsibility, wisdom and courage”.

African migrants sold out to farmers

Demonstrators took to the streets in Paris and other cities last week to express their outrage, and Libyans showed their solidarity on Twitter with the hashtag #LibyansAgainstSlavery.
Several world leaders spoke out as well. The chairman of the African Union, Guinean President Alpha Condé, called it a “despicable trade … from another era” on Friday. The U.N. Support Mission in Libya said it was “dismayed and sickened,” and is “actively pursuing” the matter with Libyan authorities

Plea

The Libyan Foreign Affairs Ministry is calling on the international organization to help restore peace and security in Libya, according to Mr. Salah such nature of the crisis cannot be managed alone by the Libyan authorities.