The United Nations (UN) has vehemently condemned the neo-slave trade in Libya.
There are reports of migrants being sold as slaves for a penny in Libya after years that their leader, Muammar Gaddafi, was executed in a joint liberation effort.
Migrants are said to be sold for as low as 200 dollars per head.
The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, addressing the issue, has called for investigations into the matter and asked the appropriate local and international authorities to mete out punitive measures to the perpetrators.
"I abhor these appalling acts and call upon all competent authorities to investigate these activities without delay and to bring the perpetrators to justice. And I have asked the relevant United Nations actors to actively pursue this matter".
According to him, "slavery has no place in our world and these actions are among the most egregious abuses of human rights and may amount to crimes against humanity. I urge every nation to adopt and apply the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocol on Trafficking in Persons and I urge the international community to unite in fighting this scourge.
"And this also reminds us of the need to address migration flows in a comprehensive and humane manner through development cooperation aiming at addressing its root causes, through a meaningful increase of all the opportunities for legal migration and through an enhanced international cooperation in cracking down on smugglers and traffickers and protecting the rights of their victims".
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