France demanded on Wednesday an urgent UN Security Council session on human trafficking in Libya and raised the possibility of sanctions on the country after a video appearing to show African migrants sold as slaves there sparked global outrage.
Convened by Italy, which struck a deal with Libya to slash the number of migrants reaching its shores, the Council on Tuesday unanimously backed a resolution urging tougher action to crack down on human trafficking and modern slavery worldwide.
Speaking to lawmakers, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian suggested Paris wanted to take things further and called for an urgent session of the Council to specifically discuss the situation in Libya.
“Libyan authorities, who have been alerted several times, including by myself because I was there in September, have decided to open an investigation into the facts,” Le Drian said.
“We want it to go fast and if the Libyan justice system can not carry this procedure through then we should open international sanctions,” Le Drian said.
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Footage appearing to show African migrants sold as slaves in Libya has sparked an international outcry with protests erupting across Europe and Africa, while artists to soccer stars to UN officials have made pleas for the abuse to end.
The video broadcast by CNN showed what it said was an auction of men offered to Libyan buyers as farmhands and sold for $400, a chilling echo of the trans-Saharan slave trade of centuries past.
“What has been revealed is indeed trafficking of human beings, it’s a crime against humanity,” French President Emmanuel Macron said during a news conference with African Union President Alpha Conde.
Macron said he wanted the UN Security Council to discuss what concrete steps could be taken to tackle the issue.
A French diplomat said the UN session would likely be in coming days, probably next week, and would see what concrete measures could be taken to improve the situation.
Despite events in Libya, Conde put the blame firmly on the European Union, accusing it of encouraging the Libyans to keep migrants in the North African country despite there being no government.
“What happened in Libya is shocking, scandalous, but we must establish the responsibilities,” said Conde. “In Libya there is no government, so the European Union can not choose a developing country and ask that country to detain refugees... when it doesn’t have the means to do so,” he added.
“The refugees are in terrible conditions... so our European friends were not right to ask Libya to keep the migrants. The European Union is responsible.”
Le Drian said he wanted the International Organisation for Migration and the UN Refugee Agency to publish details about the trafficking of migrants in the country.
Libya splintered along political, ideological and tribal lines during and after a 2011 NATO-backed uprising that unseated former leader Muammar Gaddafi. In 2014 a battle for the capital led to rival parliaments and governments being set up in Tripoli and the east.
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MATCH INFO
Norwich 0
Watford 2 (Deulofeu 2', Gray 52')
Red card: Christian Kabasele (WatforD)
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
MO
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'Top Gun: Maverick'
Rating: 4/5
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Ed Harris
Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
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