Near the end of 2017, a video of men appearing to be sold at auction in Libya for $400 surfaced on the internet and shocked the world. Though it was well known that Libya is the main transit point for refugees and migrants trying to reach Europe by sea, no one could have been prepared to learn about the atrocities taking place in the African country.
Thousands of African migrants who wanted to move to Europe became stuck in Libyan detention camps and were being abused, physically, emotionally and sexually. There have also been reports of murder, according to various news outlets like CNN and Al Jazeera.
European and African leaders have taken some steps to stop the abuses, including working with the Libyan coast guard to crack down on boats smuggling migrants to detention centers. Yet, it’s clear, especially after viewing additional footage, that it is too late to repay their human rights which already have been violated.
But how could a slave trade that violated so many human rights violations take place in the 21st century? I was able to sit down with Jane Cross, director of Caribbean Law Programs and associate professor of law at NSU, to find out more about human rights laws and to talk about how a slave trade could happen in such a modern society.
What are human rights?
Obviously, as an individual within society, you need to have rights to regulate what individuals are allowed to do for purposes of protection. However, Cross said that the meaning of this changes from locale locale. Still, the abilities to express oneself, associate with others as well as the freedom of movement can all be categorized as basic human rights.
How can people protect their rights?
According to Cross, the abilities to defend our rights depend on the political system. In North Korea, for example, certain rights, like voting, that people have in the Western world are infringed upon. Although people in North Korea might believe they have freedoms – because of the things that they were told about what freedoms are – they actually don’t have them according to Western standards. Thus, it is up to the governments and the people of each country to defend violations of them and to challenge political leaders to recognize simple freedoms as rights.
So, what happened in Libya?
If you are thinking about the context of Libya, it seems really interesting. Why couldn’t Libyans stand up to their government and demand their rights if it was that simple? Well, according to Cross, Libya recently went through a civil war, so their political institutions have been significantly weakened. This means that there are very few people who are empowered to try to protect those individuals. So, the reason why the African migrants could not defend their rights goes back to the fact that their country’s government was not protecting them.
Can people in other countries help to make progress in reducing human rights violations elsewhere?
Cross believes that this is a complicated answer, but for the most part people in other countries can help spark change. Things like human trafficking – which happens in virtually every country – discrimination against gender, race and economic status are all violations of human rights. Therefore, those who wish to enact change can begin by working to ensure that these rights are not infringed upon both in their own countries and in other nations of the world.
Cross suggests that students interested in becoming involved in human rights advocacy consider joining NSU’s Human Rights Organization, where she is the faculty advisor. One focus of the organization here in South Florida has been to work with attorneys to ensure that people who do not have the right to vote are given those freedoms both nationwide and internationally. For more information about the organization, students can contact Jane Cross by emailing crossj@nova.edu.
