GENEVA: EU funding is facilitating the commission of abuses against migrants in Libya, who are being systematically tortured and forced into sexual slavery, a United Nations investigation has found.

The probe voiced alarm at the deteriorating human rights situation in the conflict-torn North African country, warning that the European Union was supporting some of the organisations perpetrating abuses against migrants.

`We`re not saying that the EU and its member states have committed these crimes,` investigator Chaloka BeyanitoldreportersonMonday, addingthough that `the support given has aided and abetted the commission of the crimes.` In its final report, the UN Independent FactFinding Mission on Libya concluded that there were `grounds to believe a wide array of war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed by state security forces and armed militia groups.` `Migrants, in particular, have been targeted and there is overwhelming evidence that they have been systematically tortured` in detention centres, it said.

The mission`s chairman Mohamed Auajjar said investigators found crimes against humanity had been committed against migrants in detention centres under the control of Libya`s Directorate for Combating Illegal Migration (DCMI) and the country`s coast guard.

`These entities receive technical, logistic and monetary support from the European Union and its member states` for the interception and return of migrants, the former Moroccan justice minister said.

The group`s report said there were reasonable grounds to believe that sexual slavery, a crime against humanity, was being committed against migrants.

Mission member Tracy Robinson said they also uncovered slaveryin general.

`We have found instances of enslavement of persons who have been traded to outside entities to perform various services, but also sexual slavery of women in and around detention centres,` she said.

The investigators voiced concern about the deprivation of liberty of Libyans and migrants throughout the country, in what they said could also amount to crimes against humanity.-AFP