Introduction
In recent years, Libya has continued to face profound human rights challenges arising from political instability, the presence of multiple armed actors, weak state institutions, and persistent insecurity. Migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees are among the most vulnerable groups, facing widespread violations of their fundamental rights under these conditions. Libya’s geographical position as one of the principal transit routes for migrants traveling from Africa to Europe has made the country a hub for human trafficking and migrant smuggling networks, arbitrary detention, exploitation, and various forms of abuse.
In recent years, reports by the United Nations and international human rights organizations have documented the continued widespread violations of the rights of migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees in Libya. In a significant recent development, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) jointly published a report on February 17, 2026. Based on an examination of the situation of these groups during 2024 and 2025, the report documents persistent patterns of systematic violence, arbitrary detention, torture, exploitation, and human trafficking.
The significance of this issue is further heightened by the fact that many victims are exposed to harm through a network of informal relationships, corruption, weak oversight, and the involvement or acquiescence of certain power structures. Accordingly, examining the situation of migrants and asylum seekers in Libya is directly linked to the responsibilities of regional and international actors, border control policies, and international obligations to protect people at risk.
Incidents
Libya, a country whose institutions have been severely weakened and eroded by years of civil war, has become an inhospitable environment for refugees and migrants seeking a better life. Instead of receiving protection, they face numerous severe human rights violations, even after enduring dangerous journeys to reach the country and confronting further hardship in their attempts to travel through Libya to Europe.
Human rights reports in recent years have shown that migrant women and children, particularly young girls, face malnutrition, abduction, physical and sexual violence, and exploitation while traveling through the Libyan desert and areas associated with smuggling networks, including Bani Walid. In an interview published by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in June 2021, Tarik Lamloum, a migrant rights advocate in Libya, highlighted the particular vulnerability of young migrant girls from Nigeria and Somalia along this route[1]. According to figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 17,067 migrants were intercepted in the Mediterranean Sea and returned to Libya between the beginning of 2026 and mid-September of that year. During the same period, 996 people died or went missing along the Central Mediterranean route. These figures demonstrate that a decline in arrivals in Europe does not necessarily correspond to a reduction in the risks to life associated with migration routes[2].
Since 2016, the European Union has pursued cooperation with Libyan maritime authorities through initiatives such as EUNAVFOR MED Operation Sophia, providing training, equipment, and capacity-building support for border control. This cooperation expanded following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Italy and Libya in February 2017. Although the stated objectives of these measures were to combat migrant smuggling, strengthen border management, and improve search-and-rescue capabilities, United Nations reports indicate that some forms of technical, financial, and equipment assistance were provided without adequate human rights risk assessments or effective monitoring mechanisms. This situation has contributed to the continued interception of migrants at sea and their return to Libya, which United Nations entities do not consider a safe place for the disembarkation of people rescued at sea[3]. These developments demonstrate that patterns of violence, arbitrary detention, human trafficking, and exploitation remain among the most serious human rights challenges facing these vulnerable groups.
In this context, following the referral of the situation in Libya by the United Nations Security Council under Resolution 1970 (2011), the International Criminal Court (ICC) opened an investigation into crimes falling within its jurisdiction. In subsequent years, the scope of the investigation expanded beyond crimes associated with armed conflicts to include certain crimes committed in detention facilities and against migrants. In a significant development, Libya accepted the Court’s jurisdiction in May 2025 over crimes committed on its territory from 2011 through the end of 2027.
On December 1, 2025, Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri, accused of committing crimes at Mitiga Prison, was surrendered to the International Criminal Court following his arrest in Germany. Subsequently, on July 16, 2026, the Court’s Pre-Trial Chamber confirmed all charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes brought against him and committed the case for trial[4]. Nevertheless, the continued violation of migrants’ rights demonstrates that judicial proceedings and accountability mechanisms have yet to bring an end to widespread patterns of violence and exploitation[5].
Furthermore, the findings indicate that migrants are rounded up by criminal networks, often linked to Libyan state authorities, and transferred to detention facilities without due process. Interceptions at sea by Libyan actors frequently involve violence and dangerous practices, including excessive use of force and hazardous maneuvers. Those intercepted are forcibly returned to Libya, where they face renewed cycles of abuse. Rape and unlawful killings of civilians, migrants, and other vulnerable groups in Libya by state and non-state armed actors have become common practices[6].
In this context, an Eritrean woman who had been held captive for six weeks in a trafficking house in Tobruk, eastern Libya, stated: “I wish I died. It was a journey of hell”[7]. Another survivor, who had been detained in a hangar, reported that armed men would take women away at night and subject them to rape, torture, and beatings in front of others. She added: “I was raped twice in front of my daughters and other migrants. A Sudanese man tried to help, but they beat him severely. My daughter still asks me about that night”[8].
In testimony published by SOS Humanity in January 2023, an 18-year-old Gambian man using the pseudonym “Buba,” who had been rescued in the Mediterranean Sea in October 2022, described his experience of detention and violence in Libya as follows:
“I eventually reached Libya, but I knew nothing about the country. I had previously heard some of the stories people told about it. I had heard terrible things. When I arrived in Libya, I realized that what people had been saying was true. Whenever someone tried to escape from prison, the guards had metal rods, perhaps a meter and a half long, which they used to beat prisoners. Sometimes they broke people’s hands. One of my friends had four bones broken in this way. You know, sometimes they would watch you for a while and then start beating your legs”[9].
In another testimony published by the same organization on March 13, 2023, a 20-year-old woman from Côte d’Ivoire, identified by the pseudonym “Fatime,” who had been rescued in December 2022, recounted her experiences in Libya. According to her account, during her first attempt to leave Libya, Libyan forces took money from the passengers and then fired at their boat, causing it to capsize and resulting in the drowning of her two brothers. Fatime was subsequently detained. After she paid money for her release, she was taken to a house and later sold to another man, who raped her, resulting in her pregnancy[10].
It should be emphasized that these violations are not confined to recent years. In a report published in July 2021, Amnesty International documented cases of guards raping women and coercing them into sexual relations in exchange for release or access to basic necessities, including clean drinking water, based on testimonies from former detainees at the Shara’ al-Zawiya detention center in Tripoli. According to the report, two young women attempted suicide as a result of the abuses they suffered at the facility. Three women also testified that two babies detained alongside their mothers died in early 2021 after guards refused to transfer them to a hospital for urgent medical treatment. These findings demonstrate that patterns of violence and deprivation of protection in Libyan detention facilities have a history extending well beyond the developments documented in the 2026 reports[11].
Suki Nagra, the United Nations Human Rights Representative at the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, also shared several harrowing testimonies:
“A Nigerian woman who was trafficked to Libya in 2021 was subjected to forced sexual servitude in Tripoli for two years. Following a police raid, she was transferred to a household in Zuwara, where she was forced into domestic slavery and denied both her freedom and wages. She left Libya in February 2025”[12].
Nagra further stated: “We are witnessing successive waves of racist and xenophobic rhetoric and attacks targeting migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees, as well as violent interventions at sea that forcibly return people to Libya, which we do not consider a safe place for disembarkation or return”[13].
Meanwhile, restrictions on the activities of human rights organizations and humanitarian assistance providers constitute another alarming dimension of the situation facing migrants and asylum seekers in Libya. Reports by human rights organizations indicate that some groups working to protect migrants have faced office closures, security-related accusations, operational restrictions, and pressure on their staff. In addition to undermining civic space, these measures have restricted vulnerable groups’ access to protection and humanitarian services.
In one notable case, on April 2, 2025, the Tripoli-based Internal Security Agency (ISA), affiliated with Libya’s Presidential Council, announced the closure of the headquarters of ten international non-governmental organizations supporting migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in Libya. The ISA alleged that these organizations were involved in “hostile activities” and accused them of conspiring to settle irregular migrants of African origin in Libya[14].
Commenting on the matter, Ali Omar, Director of Libya Crimes Watch (LCW), stated:
“What we are witnessing is not a collection of isolated violations, but an ongoing, coordinated, and systematic campaign of repression conducted by the ISA with government backing and protection. Its purpose is to dismantle civil society and obstruct the work of international humanitarian organizations in Libya. The Libyan authorities bear direct responsibility for this repressive campaign and must be held accountable. Forcibly shutting down these organizations will only worsen the already deteriorating humanitarian conditions facing migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers”[15].
Challenges and Responses
- Continued Migration Flows and the Arrival of Asylum Seekers from African Countries
The continued movement of migrants and asylum seekers from neighboring countries and other parts of Africa, combined with Libya’s weak protection structures and ongoing political and security crises, presents a major challenge to safeguarding their rights. However, migration flows into Libya are neither uniform nor consistently increasing, and individuals’ motivations vary considerably, ranging from seeking employment and securing a livelihood to escaping war, violence, and persecution.
Persistent arbitrary detention, restricted access to essential services, and the absence of effective complaint mechanisms reveal serious shortcomings in Libya’s system for protecting migrants and asylum seekers. These deficiencies are compounded by fragmented political authority and weak oversight institutions. The situation is further aggravated by economic, social, and security crises in sub-Saharan African countries. War and unrest in Sudan and South Sudan, along with internal conflicts in Chad and the Central African Republic, have forced large numbers of people to leave their homes and travel toward Libya.
Similarly, some nationals of East African countries, including Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea, migrate to Libya because of political persecution, armed conflict, and economic hardship. While some intend to continue their journeys toward Europe, others regard Libya as a destination for residence or employment[16]. Consequently, the situation is expected to remain challenging, as Libyan authorities classify these individuals as illegal migrants.
It is worth noting that, since the outbreak of armed conflict in Sudan in April 2023, Libya has experienced a substantial increase in the arrival of Sudanese refugees. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the estimated number of Sudanese refugees and asylum seekers in Libya reached approximately 255,600 by the end of 2024. This trend continued in subsequent years. According to the United Nations Secretary-General’s report of April 2026, the Sudanese refugee population in Libya was estimated at approximately 554,937 as of March 24 of that year.
The growth of this population, amid limited protection capacities and the absence of a comprehensive asylum system, has placed additional pressure on access to essential services and humanitarian assistance[17]. Transit countries such as Egypt and Libya have become connecting points along migration routes toward Europe, with large numbers of migrants traveling through these countries each year. This places further strain on Libya’s fragile humanitarian, security, and economic systems, prolonging the difficult conditions faced by migrants.
Under these circumstances, continued displacement driven by war, insecurity, and economic factors, together with Libya’s limited protection capacities, underscores the need for policies that go beyond managing migration flows. Such policies must also focus on identifying individuals’ protection needs, reducing risks along transit routes, and ensuring access to essential services.
- Domestic Responses
On April 17, 2025, twelve Libyan and international human rights organizations, including Libya Crimes Watch (LCW), Lawyers for Justice in Libya (LFJL), and the Libyan Center for Freedom of Press, issued a joint statement condemning the actions of the Tripoli-based Internal Security Agency.
The statement followed the ISA’s announcement on April 2, 2025, that the offices of ten international non-governmental organizations would be closed. The signatory organizations rejected the allegations against humanitarian organizations as unfounded and warned of the consequences of these measures for civic space and the protection of migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees.
They emphasized that the crackdown, justified through allegations of “hostile activities” and the promotion of “atheism and immorality,” was in fact directed against civic space and posed threats to human rights defenders and migrants. They also warned that these measures would intensify racial tensions and violence against African migrants, reinforcing the cycle of abuse targeting these individuals.
The statement called for an immediate end to intimidation and harassment of NGO staff, guarantees for the freedom of humanitarian organizations to operate, and protection of the rights, dignity, and safety of migrants and asylum seekers[18]. This response represents an example of Libyan civil society’s resistance to state pressure and its efforts to uphold human rights and protect vulnerable groups.
- International Responses
On February 17, 2026, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) published a joint report entitled Business as Usual: Human Rights Violations and Abuses Against Migrants, Asylum-Seekers and Refugees in Libya.
The report draws on an examination of human rights violations committed in 2024 and 2025, as well as interviews with more than 95 migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees. Its findings indicate that widespread and systematic violations of these individuals’ rights have, in some cases, become embedded in profitable systems of exploitation and the activities of criminal networks.
The United Nations report also reveals that a total of 48,878 migrants were intercepted at sea and returned to Libya during 2024 and 2025, while 3,013 deaths or disappearances were recorded along the Central Mediterranean route over the same period. These figures highlight the relationship between the dangers of maritime crossings, border control policies, and the need to protect people at risk.
The report documents systematic abuses and widespread violence against these groups, including arbitrary detention, torture, sexual exploitation, forced labor, and the confiscation of property. International support for Libyan authorities in border and migration management is frequently provided without adequate human rights risk assessments or sufficient oversight, resulting in serious adverse consequences for migrants and asylum seekers.
Moreover, the absence of comprehensive rights-based national legislation and adequate protective measures perpetuates the cycle of exploitation and impunity, limiting affected individuals’ access to protection and legal remedies. The report emphasizes the need to establish effective oversight and accountability mechanisms to end abuses and guarantee the fundamental rights of migrants and asylum seekers[19].
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Association (HRA) called for the immediate release of all Gambian nationals held in arbitrary detention across various detention facilities in Libya, as well as an end to the systematic abuse of migrants.
This appeal followed the publication of the joint report by OHCHR and UNSMIL, which documented widespread violations, including arbitrary detention, torture, forced labor, sexual violence, and extortion against migrants, including Gambian nationals.
Citing testimonies collected by the United Nations, the association emphasized that Gambian migrants had repeatedly been subjected to beatings, theft of their belongings, and detention without due process. It called on the Libyan authorities to end all arbitrary detention, halt raids and mass arrests conducted without due process, dismantle criminal networks exploiting migrants, and cooperate with United Nations human rights mechanisms. The association also called for migrants’ return to their countries of origin to be voluntary and based on informed consent[20].
Finally, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, addressed the situation of migrants and asylum seekers in Libya in a report entitled Migrants in Libya: “Your Destiny Can Change at Any Moment.”
The report describes the extremely precarious conditions in which migrants and asylum seekers live in Libya, where they are exposed to violence, abuse, abduction, torture, and sexual exploitation, while facing severe restrictions on access to health care.
It further highlights the extreme dangers and high mortality associated with migration routes, particularly crossings of the Mediterranean Sea, and documents how individuals are forced to pay bribes or become trapped in human trafficking networks. The organization stresses the need to establish safe and legal pathways for migrants to leave Libya and to provide prompt and safe access to medical care, emphasizing that these measures are essential to reducing migrants’ acute vulnerability and breaking the cycle of abuse[21].
Conclusion
An examination of the situation of migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees in Libya demonstrates that violations of their rights are not merely the result of inadequate border oversight or isolated activities by smuggling networks. In numerous cases, these violations arise from connections between criminal groups, detention structures, and certain institutions and actors associated with positions of power. The joint report published by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Support Mission in Libya in February 2026, documenting events during 2024 and 2025, reveals a pattern of detention without due process, forced transfers to official and unofficial detention facilities, torture, sexual violence, forced labor, and extortion in exchange for release. Against this backdrop, the interception of migrants in the Mediterranean and their return to Libya, under circumstances in which effective access to international protection is unavailable, increases the risk of individuals becoming trapped once again in cycles of detention and exploitation. Furthermore, the measures taken by the Internal Security Agency against humanitarian organizations in April 2025 demonstrate that restrictions on the activities of protection organizations not only undermine independent oversight but also obstruct victims’ access to essential services and mechanisms for reporting human rights violations. Taken together, this evidence highlights serious deficiencies in the system for protecting migrants and underscores the need to examine the roles and responsibilities of state institutions, armed groups, and organized networks in perpetuating these conditions.
From the perspective of international law, the documented conduct must be assessed according to the nature of each violation, the legal status of the victims, and the extent to which the acts can be attributed to the state or other perpetrators. Detention without a legal basis or an effective opportunity to challenge its legality is inconsistent with the requirements of Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Torture and inhuman treatment are also subject to the prohibitions established under Article 7 of the same Covenant and Articles 2 and 16 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. In addition, Article 3 of the Convention against Torture and Article II(3) of the 1969 Organization of African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa prohibit, within the conditions prescribed by each instrument, the return of individuals to territories where they face specified risks. Article 12(5) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights also prohibits the mass expulsion of non-nationals on the basis of national, racial, ethnic, or religious affiliation. Although Libya is not a party to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol, this does not relieve it of obligations arising under other binding treaties and applicable rules of customary international law, including the principle of non-refoulement. Moreover, Libya’s accession to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families in June 2004 has reinforced its obligations toward migrant workers and their family members. In particular, Article 16, concerning the right to liberty and security of person; Article 22, prohibiting collective expulsion; and Article 28, concerning access to necessary medical care, provide specific standards for assessing the treatment of persons covered by the Convention by the relevant authorities. Libya’s status as a party to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols concerning trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants also establishes a legal basis for prosecuting networks engaged in exploitation and strengthening victim protection. Where acts such as enslavement, torture, or sexual violence are committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population, and the other legal elements of the offenses are established, they may also be examined as crimes against humanity under Article 7 of the Rome Statute. Accordingly, reforming Law No. (19) of 2010 on Combatting Illegal Immigration, establishing a national mechanism for identifying and processing asylum claims, and ensuring judicial oversight of deprivation of liberty constitute essential requirements for reforming the existing legal framework.
At the operational level, the foremost priority must be to end arbitrary detention, release individuals for whom continued detention lacks a legal basis, identify and register all detention facilities, and provide independent access to these facilities for monitoring bodies, lawyers, and humanitarian organizations. It is also essential that Libyan judicial authorities initiate independent investigations into allegations of torture, sexual violence, deaths in detention, extortion, and possible links between state officials and smuggling networks. These investigations must ensure the protection of witnesses and victims while enabling the prosecution of perpetrators and the pursuit of reparations. In migration management, it is necessary to establish individualized screening procedures at points of entry and following maritime operations, identify persons in need of international protection, introduce non-custodial alternatives to immigration detention, and ensure that vulnerable individuals are referred to specialized services. At the transnational level, the European Union and states involved in training, equipping, and supporting Libyan border authorities must make independent human rights risk assessments, monitoring of equipment use, and mechanisms for suspending assistance in cases of serious violations enforceable conditions of cooperation. They must also refrain from participating in operations that result in individuals being returned to unsafe conditions. At the same time, priority should be given to strengthening the monitoring capacity of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, cooperating with UNHCR to expand safe admission and relocation pathways, and supporting domestic and international criminal investigations. Assessing the effectiveness of these measures also requires the regular publication of verifiable information concerning the number of detainees, duration of detention, incidents of interception and return, access to judicial review, and the outcomes of investigations into reported violations. These indicators can provide a basis for determining the extent to which human rights obligations are being fulfilled, based on the actual performance of the responsible institutions rather than reliance on policy announcements and promises of reform.
References
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