Trafficking in Persons in Libya: A Prolonged Crisis

Libya has remained a “Special Case” in the U.S. Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report for eight consecutive years, reflecting the country’s persistent instability and inability to combat human trafficking effectively. Since the 2011 conflict and the collapse of centralized authority, Libya has struggled with fragmented governance, weak institutions, and widespread impunity—conditions that have allowed trafficking networks to thrive.

Political Instability and Governance Challenges

The Government of National Unity (GNU), established through a UN-facilitated process in March 2021, has failed to exert control over large portions of Libyan territory. Rival political and military actors, including eastern-based institutions such as the Libyan National Army (LNA), continue to undermine national unity. Although a ceasefire agreement signed in October 2020 reduced large-scale fighting, sporadic violence, militia rivalries, and foreign interference persisted during the reporting period.

Libya’s judicial system remains largely nonfunctional. Courts in major cities have been mostly inactive since 2014, and law enforcement capacity is severely limited. Extra-legal armed groups, including militias and foreign mercenaries, fill the resulting security vacuum. These groups frequently operate with little oversight and have been implicated in serious human rights abuses, including forced labor, sex trafficking, child recruitment, and violence against migrants.

Legal Framework and Law Enforcement Gaps

Libyan law criminalizes certain forms of sex trafficking but does not criminalize labor trafficking, leaving a significant gap in legal protection. Existing provisions require proof of transnational movement and fail to cover trafficking induced through coercion or fraud. Adult male victims of sex trafficking are not legally recognized, further limiting accountability.

While slavery and slave trading are criminalized under the penal code, enforcement is minimal. Libya has never reported a conviction for either labor or sex trafficking. Law enforcement authorities lack training, resources, and operational capacity, and anti-trafficking efforts are further weakened by corruption and militia infiltration of government institutions.

Official Complicity and Impunity

International observers have repeatedly documented systemic official complicity in trafficking crimes. Members of the Libyan Coast Guard, immigration officials, security forces, and staff of the Department to Combat Illegal Migration (DCIM) have been accused of directly participating in trafficking or facilitating abuse.

Migrants detained in DCIM-run centers are frequently subjected to forced labor, sexual exploitation, extortion, and violence. Reports indicate guards have coerced detainees into work on farms, construction sites, and within detention centers themselves. In some cases, women and girls were reportedly sold to external traffickers for sexual exploitation. Armed groups aligned with the government have also been linked to the recruitment and use of child soldiers, including coordination with foreign armed factions.

Treatment of Victims and Detention Conditions

Libya lacks formal mechanisms to identify or protect trafficking victims. Authorities do not distinguish between migrants, refugees, asylum-seekers, and trafficking victims, leading to the detention, punishment, or deportation of individuals who may have been trafficked. Migrants are frequently arrested during mass raids and deported without screening for trafficking indicators, sometimes being abandoned in desert border areas without humanitarian assistance.

As of early 2023, international organizations estimated that 8,500 to 11,500 migrants and refugees were held in DCIM detention centers, with thousands more detained in unofficial facilities run by militias. Conditions in these centers are dire, characterized by overcrowding, lack of sanitation, food shortages, and limited access to medical care or legal aid. Women and children face heightened risks, particularly due to the absence of trained female staff and accountability for sexual violence.

Migrants as Primary Targets

Migrants remain the population most vulnerable to trafficking in Libya. An estimated 667,000 migrants were living in the country in 2022, many from Sub-Saharan Africa. International organizations report that a majority of migrants transiting Libya experience exploitation that may amount to trafficking.

Libya is also a major transit point for migration to Europe. Smugglers and traffickers often collaborate with armed groups, exploiting migrants through forced labor, debt bondage, extortion, and sexual exploitation. Some migrant boys have been coerced into piloting boats across the Mediterranean, later facing detention abroad for alleged smuggling offenses.

Women, Children, and Forced Recruitment

Women and girls, particularly from Sub-Saharan Africa, are at high risk of sex trafficking. Brothels operating in southern Libyan towns reportedly exploit women through coercion and violence. Nigerian women and girls are especially vulnerable, often recruited through deceptive promises and trafficked onward to Europe.

Children are also deeply affected. Armed groups have recruited boys as young as 13, exposing them to violence, exploitation, and abuse. Both Libyan and foreign children, including internally displaced persons, remain at risk due to poverty, displacement, and the absence of protective institutions.

Conclusion

Human trafficking in Libya is driven by prolonged conflict, weak governance, and widespread corruption. Despite being a party to the UN Trafficking in Persons Protocol, Libya lacks the institutional capacity, political will, and legal framework needed to prevent trafficking, protect victims, or prosecute perpetrators. Until stability is restored and accountability enforced, trafficking is likely to remain entrenched—continuing to devastate migrants, children, and vulnerable populations across the country.