UN Members Urge Libya to Close Migrant Detention Centers Amid Abuse Reports

UN Members Urge Libya to Close Migrant Detention Centers Amid Abuse Reports
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Several countries called on Libya to shut down its migrant detention centers during a UN meeting in Geneva on Tuesday, following widespread reports of torture, mistreatment and killings inside the facilities. Nations including the UK, Spain, Norway and Sierra Leone expressed concern over the conditions faced by migrants and asylum seekers in Libya, a major transit point for people attempting to reach Europe.

A case before a Dutch court alleges that smugglers detain migrants in warehouses where they are subjected to violence and extortion. According to Reuters, a UN agency reported that some bodies recovered from mass graves in Libya bore gunshot wounds. Norway’s ambassador to the UN, Tormod C. Endresen, stressed the need to end arbitrary detention and protect vulnerable migrants, while the UK’s human rights ambassador, Eleanor Sanders, urged Libyan authorities to grant unrestricted access to UN investigators and rights groups.

In a joint open letter, human rights organizations called for urgent reforms, noting that armed factions continue to act with impunity, obstruct judicial processes and commit widespread abuses. Libya’s acting foreign minister, Taher Salem Al-Baour, acknowledged the heavy burden of migration on the country but said authorities are working to improve rights protections during the ongoing political transition.

He highlighted Libya’s acceptance of the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction and the formation of a new committee to address conditions in detention centers. The discussion forms part of the UN’s Universal Periodic Review, which evaluates human rights practices across all 193 member states. Libya has remained a key route for migrants heading toward Europe since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.