UN chief “gravely concerned” about human rights in Libya

A new United Nations report sounds alarms about abuses at detention centers in Libya. The North African country is a major transit point for migrants fleeing Africa or the Middle East for Europe. Traffickers often pack desperate families into dangerous rubber or wooden boats that stall and founder along the Mediterranean route. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said many of those rescued or intercepted and returned to Libya wind up in inhumane detention centers.

What is going on? The report states that, officially, more than 12,000 people are locked up in 27 prisons and detention facilities in Libya. They are at higher risk for rape, sexual harassment, and trafficking by armed groups, smugglers, and even some Libyan government officials. And thousands more are being held illegally and often in “inhumane conditions in facilities controlled by armed groups.” The detainees have no legal standing to challenge their imprisonment.

Dig deeper: From the archives, read Onize Ohikere’s World Tour report on the nations and stakeholders involved in Libya’s unrest.