The United Nations Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries in a statement yesterday urged Turkey, Russia and Libya to investigate human rights violations and abuses committed and facilitated by mercenaries and to hold the perpetrators accountable.
Members of the working group warned that reliance on foreign actors has contributed to the escalation of the conflict in Libya and undermined prospects for a peaceful resolution.
“This is a breach of the existing arms embargo imposed by the UN Security Council which includes a prohibition on the provision of armed mercenary personnel, as well as a breach of the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries to which Libya is party,” said Chris Kwaja, who chairs the working group.
According to the statement, both the Government of National Accord (GNA) and the Libyan National Army (LNA) have relied on third country nationals to support military operations, including Russian private military personnel, and Syrian, Chadian and Sudanese mercenaries.
The UN Working Group has asked the parties to the conflict in Libya and the states supporting them to immediately stop recruiting, funding and deploying mercenaries and related actors.
Citing reports that Turkey has engaged in large-scale recruitment and transfer of Syrian fighters to take part in hostilities in support of the GNA, Kwaja said, “These fighters were recruited through armed factions affiliated with the Syrian National Army that have been accused of serious human rights abuses in Syria.”
According to the statement thousands of Syrian men, including boys under 18 years, have reportedly been sent to Libya via Turkey in recent months. “We are concerned that these children come from an extremely vulnerable social and economic situation and are being exploited for the purpose of recruitment as mercenaries,” Kwaja added.
The UN working group said Russian private military personnel were also reportedly deployed on the Tripoli frontline to support the LNA as snipers and to direct artillery fire from at least September 2019 to May 2020. The name of one company, the Wagner Group, has been cited in connection with this deployment. In September 2019, some of the personnel allegedly arbitrarily detained five civilians and summarily executed three of them in al-Sbeaa village near Tripoli.
“We urge the Governments concerned to investigate all allegations of human rights violations and abuses committed or facilitated by such actors, to hold perpetrators accountable, and to provide access to effective remedies for victims,” the statement said.
“The use of these fighters is all the more concerning in the current COVID-19 pandemic. Sending them to a conflict zone shows complete disregard for the health and safety of the Libyan civilian population that has been left severely ill-prepared to face the health crisis.”
According to the statement, the UN working group also conveyed its concerns directly to the Governments of Libya, Turkey and the Russian Federation, as well as to the Libyan National Army.
