Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

is a transit and destination country for men and women from

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial

sexual exploitation Sexual slavery and sexual exploitation is an attachment of any ownership rights, right over one or more people with the intent of Coercion, coercing or otherwise forcing them to engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activities. This includ ...

. While most foreigners in Libya are economic migrants, in some cases large smuggling debts of $500–$2,000 and illegal status leave them vulnerable to various forms of

coercion Coercion involves compelling a party to act in an involuntary manner through the use of threats, including threats to use force against that party. It involves a set of forceful actions which violate the free will of an individual in order to i ...

, resulting in cases of forced

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

and

forced labor Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

. As of 2018 more governments as well as the UN began acknowledging the continuous violations of human rights as well as the chronic failures by the Libyan authorities to address the issue.

Proofs

and as in previous years, there had been isolated reports that women from sub-Saharan Africa were trafficked to Libya for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation. Although precise figures were unavailable, foreign observers estimated in 2008 that about one to two percent of Libya's 1.5 to 2 million foreigners may be victims of trafficking."Libya"
''Trafficking in Persons Report 2008''

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

(June 4, 2008). ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

.'' , the

Government of Libya Muammar Gaddafi bequeths a "Shallow State" The politics of Libya has been shaped by the "shallow state" ceded by former authoritarian leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was overthrown in 2011 in the midst of the Arab revolutions; apart from being ...

did not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, but was making significant efforts to do so. The

placed Libya on Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to address trafficking in persons, particularly in the area of investigating and prosecuting

human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...

offenses. During 2007, Libya provided in-kind assistance to training programs designed to educate law enforcement and civil society groups about trafficking. The government appointed a national anti-trafficking coordinator responsible for protecting trafficking victims and punishing trafficking offenders. As in previous years, however, Libya did not publicly release any data on investigations or punishment of any trafficking offenses. However, since 2009 the secret Bani Walid detention camp had been in operation. Here, "migrants were stored like cargo in compounds, starved, sometimes tortured to death". In 2011, migrants trying to reach Europe changed from Sinai to Libya: Egyptian security forces pushed traffickers out of Sinai and after the end of the

First Libyan Civil War The Libyan civil war, also known as the First Libyan Civil War and Libyan Revolution, was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were ...

in 2011, which overthrew

Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until Killing of Muammar Gaddafi, his assassination by Libyan Anti-Gaddafi ...

, Libya became their new destination. In 2016, the photojournalist Narciso Contreras, with the help of the

Carmignac Photojournalism Award The Fondation Carmignac is a Paris-based organization that bestows the Carmignac Gestion Photojournalism Awards, which are held yearly. It was established in 2000 by Édouard Carmignac. The organization has a publicly accessible art collection o ...

, brought back pictures of migrants in detention centres in

. The same year, journalists

Meron Estefanos Meron Estefanos (born 6 January 1975) is a Swedish-Eritrean human rights activist and journalist. She first became known in the Eritrean refugee community in 2011 for helping people who had been kidnapped and tortured by human traffickers on th ...

and Mirjam Van Reisen conducted interviews with Eritrean refugees who were smuggled to Libya through Sudan. The interviews revealed that many traffickers abducted and tortured some refugees. Furthermore, they revealed that Libyan

ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

cells participated in smuggling and abduction of refugees. In 2017,

Fatou Bensouda Fatou Bom Bensouda (; ; born 31 January 1961) is a Gambian lawyer and former Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), who has served as the Gambian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom since 3 August 2022. She served as prosecu ...

, chief prosecutor at the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...

, called Libya "a marketplace" for human trafficking, but merely considered, whether to investigate migrant-related crimes in Libya. In 2022, scholars showed that contemporary trafficking from sub-Saharan Africa to Libya could lead to different forms of captivity, such as debt bondage,

prison labor Penal labour is a term for various kinds of forced labour that prisoners are required to perform, typically manual labour. The work may be light or hard, depending on the context. Forms of sentence involving penal labour have included invo ...

, and hostage taking for ransom. While such forms of exploitation have a long history in the region, they were linked with repressive migration policies and state and non-state systems of political control.

Prosecution

, the Government of Libya provided no public information on its law enforcement efforts to punish trafficking in persons, as Libya's laws did not prohibit trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor. The government failed to provide data on any criminal investigations,

prosecution A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

conviction In law, a conviction is the determination by a court of law that a defendant is Guilty (law), guilty of a crime. A conviction may follow a guilty plea that is accepted by the court, a jury trial in which a verdict of guilty is delivered, or a ...

s or sentences for trafficking offenses this year, although senior officials noted during the year that Libya prosecuted individuals for confiscating foreign workers'

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's identity and nationality for international travel. A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign country, access local aid ...

s until the workers had repaid an alleged and sizeable smuggling 'debt.' Widespread

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

in the country may facilitate trafficking, but the government did not report prosecuting, convicting, or sentencing any official for complicity. In addition, Libya provided in-kind assistance for IOM training of law enforcement officials, including border security and customs, on trafficking. In early 2020,

Kidane Zekarias Habtemariam ''Kidane'' (), is a word in various Ethiopian Semitic languages that translates to covenant or vow. It is also a common male name in Ethiopia and Eritrea People with the name Kidane is used as a given name in Eritrea and Ethiopia. * Abraham Kida ...

was arrested in Ethiopia, and in February 2021 he managed to escape after months of attempts of bribing.

Protection

Libya had taken minimal steps to improve protection of victims of trafficking. The government did not provide protection services such as psychological or

legal assistance Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right t ...

to victims of trafficking. Libya provided in-kind support to a program that trained over 80 law enforcement officers and civil society activists to medically assist trafficking victims. Recognizing that many government officials still fail to distinguish between trafficking victims in need of protective services and other migrants, the government permitted international organizations access to vulnerable

Eritreans Eritreans are the native inhabitants of Eritrea, as well as the global Eritrean diaspora, diaspora of Eritrea. Eritreans constitute #Component ethnicities, several component ethnic groups, some of which are related to ethnic groups that make up t ...

Ethiopians Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global Ethiopian diaspora, diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute #Ethnicity, several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighbor ...

Somalis The Somali people (, Wadaad's writing, Wadaad: , Arabic: ) are a Cushitic peoples, Cushitic ethnic group and nation native to the Somali Peninsula. who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The Lowland East Cushitic languages, East ...

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

ese, and

Iraqis Iraqis ( ; ) are the citizens and nationals of the Republic of Iraq. The majority of Iraqis are Arabs, with Kurds accounting for the largest ethnic minority, followed by Turkmen. Other ethnic groups from the country include Yazidis, As ...

to screen for evidence of trafficking. While trafficking victims remained susceptible to punishment for unlawful acts, such as immigration violations and prostitution, committed as a result of being trafficked, during the reporting period, there were no reports that trafficking victims were deported. The Libyan government does not actively encourage victims to participate in investigations and prosecutions against their traffickers.

Prevention

, Libya took no discernible action to prevent trafficking in persons. The government did not conduct any public awareness campaigns to highlight the issue of trafficking in persons. Libya also did not take any measures to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts. Similarly, Libya did not undertake any public awareness campaigns targeting citizens traveling to known child sex tourism destinations abroad.

References

{{Africa topic, Human trafficking in

Human rights abuses in Libya Crime in Libya by type Slavery in Libya Women's rights in Libya

Proofs

Prosecution

Protection

Prevention

See also

References