THE CONTEXT
Libyan Human Rights History
Colonial Era
As Italy colonized Libya in 1911 following the Italo-Turkish war, the Italians faced strong opposition from Libyan rebel tribes. The colonization was named a priority by the country, and as a result the Italians implemented aggressive policies against these rebels including bombing villages, employing poison gas, and the use of concentration camps.
In these years, more than 10% of the Libyan population, around 100,000 people, died of hunger or were murdered by Italian forces.
Gaddafi Era
Gaddafi’s self proclaimed “cultural revolution” of the early 1970s brought about repressive policy and action by the government that undermined all previous strides made in human right treatment. Gaddafi’s dedication to rebuking Western practices led to the burning of books and smashing of Western musical instruments.
The regimes authoritarian nature was visible as dissent within the country was met with violence including imprisonment, torture, and killings. Gaddafi had political opponents from other countries kidnapped and flown to Libya to be put in prison and killed without any trial.
Besides political opposition, Gaddafi also discriminated against migrants, refugees, and ethnic minorities including Berbers, Tuaregs, and Black Africans. Non-Libyan migrants caught in the country would be detained without trial. Victims of this treatment report Libyan guards beating them, and keeping them in unsanitary and overcrowded detention facilities.
Civil War Era
The NTC, Libya’s de facto government composed of anti-Gaddafi rebel groups, allowed its security forces to commit extrajudicial killings against detained pro-Gaddafi personnel during the first Civil War in 2011. They also failed to investigate or prosecute acts of arbitrary detention, torture, and other killings in the Misrata region where Gaddafi’s forces were defeated.
During the Second Libyan Civil War, some individuals sanctioned by the UN Security Council for human trafficking were reported fighting under official backing of the Government of National Accord (GNA), the interim government at the time, and the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF). These groups were given vague law enforcement responsibilities that allowed them to perpetrate human rights violations in the form of war crimes, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, and more.
Modern Era
The current human rights issues within Libya continue to stem from the instability brought by both Libyan Civil Wars, the second of which ended in 2020. The country’s most blatant violations are toward the migrant population, but other victims include human rights defenders and various social activists.
UN OHCHR spokesperson Liz Throssell declared that members of the Internal Security Agency (ISA), the current internationally recognized government in Tripoli, and other state-affiliated groups have been detaining human rights defenders and civil society activists under the pretense of protecting Libyan and Islamic values. There are also reports of the ISA warning the Libyan population of the “immoral” influence that domestic and international organizations can have on society, claiming that these organizations are exploiting Libyan youth with “false ideas”.
One example of this discrimination was seen on March 13, 2022 when members of the Tanweer Movement, a Tripoli-based NGO that promotes gender equality, social, and cultural rights, dissolved their organization and reportedly had to flee overseas in fear of their safety. To date, 5 of the organization’s members have been arrested without clear charges, and their whereabouts are unknown.
African Migration
There are an estimated 610, 128 migrants in Libya as of October, 2021.
The extreme numbers of migrants passing through Libya are due to the country’s proximity to the Mediterranean and the European Continent. During the Gaddafi regime, Libya was a prime destination for migrants in Africa, but as the country descended into Civil War the perceived security of the country lessened.
“Last year I was living a normal life. I didn’t have problems and the place was peaceful. They came there and took over, there was a lot of crisis over there. Even my first daughter, a bullet met her and she died there.”
Abu, a Nigerian refugee speaking about the spread of the Islamist State in Libya
Libya now balances high numbers of migrants entering their country with an unstable political structure that has multiple groups vying for power. Migrants that attempt to pass through Libya become embroiled in ethnic and tribal conflicts, smuggling, trafficking, and more threats to their safety.
What’s next?
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Libyan Migrant Project 