On 15 and 16 June, the spokesperson for the European External Action Service, Maria Arena (S&D, Belgium), the chair of the European Parliament Sub-Committee on Human Rights, and Andrea Cozzolino (S&D, Italy), the chair of the European Parliament delegation for relations with the Maghreb countries, called for an independent investigation into the discovery of at least eight mass graves around Tarhuna.
This territory, which is located in north-western Libya, was reclaimed on 5 June by pro-Government of National Accord units from the forces of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
The spokesperson said that “an immediate independent investigation should be undertaken to verify these findings and bring those responsible to justice”. He reminded all parties to the conflict in Libya of their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Arena and Cozzolino stated that “all steps must be taken to ensure that experts and investigators have access to and can collect all necessary evidence of the alleged war crimes and human rights violations perpetrated in Libya since the outbreak of the civil war”. The MEPs believe that it is high time for impunity to end and for justice to be upheld in Libya. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)