The United Nations has issued a urgent call for major reforms by both Libya’s UN-backed government and a rival administration to protect the rights of migrants and refugees, citing systematic and severe human rights violations. A new joint report by the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) documents a pattern of abuses including murder, torture, sexual violence, and human trafficking, and demands an immediate moratorium on the return of migrant boats to Libya until adequate safeguards are established.
The report, based on nearly 100 interviews with migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees from 16 countries across Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia, describes an “exploitative model” that preys on the “heightened vulnerability” of migrants, creating what it calls “a brutal and normalised reality.” It found that migrants are frequently “rounded up and abducted by networks of traffickers, often linked to the authorities” and criminal groups. Since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya’s instability has transformed the country into a key transit route across the Mediterranean for those fleeing conflict and poverty, a situation the UN and international NGOs say has fostered widespread trafficking, extortion, and slavery.
The document identifies four primary patterns of violations: “illegal and dangerous interceptions at sea,” “slavery,” “sexual and gender-based violence,” and “torture and enforced disappearance.” It condemns the practice of arbitrary detention in approximately 40 official and unofficial centres, urging the immediate release of all detainees. While official figures from the UN agencies indicate nearly 5,000 people were held in state-run centres by the end of 2025, non-governmental organisations suggest the true number is significantly higher.
The report’s findings underscore a catastrophic failure of governance and the rule of law, where state and non-state actors alike perpetrate abuses with impunity. The call for a moratorium on returns highlights the acute risk migrants face even after being intercepted at sea. The UN agencies stress that the situation requires not only domestic action from Libya’s competing authorities but also sustained international attention to dismantle the trafficking networks and establish credible protection mechanisms. The report frames the crisis as a direct consequence of a decade-long power vacuum and the absence of a unified state capable of upholding fundamental human rights.
