Overcrowded and unsanitary, the detention facilities themselves are essentially makeshift buildings, often abandoned warehouses or factories exasperating the humanitarian conditions. Lack of access to running water, nutrition and sanitation is prevalent within these centres. All these conditions provide a breeding ground for the spread of diseases. Locked up with no escape, refugees and migrants are left helpless and exposed to the virus. This coupled with the looming fear of an indiscriminate attack as the conflict rages on in the shadows of the pandemic makes Libya a country that is not safe for return under any circumstances and particularly not today. With nowhere to go during this global crisis, the Libyan authorities must immediately release all those held in detention centres, removing them from the imminent threat of bombs and virus.
Faced with xenophobia and no legal status
Libya lacks a legal framework that can organise the migration and refugee situation, despite historically being a host country. With no legislation recognising refugee status and a law that criminalizes the illegal entry, exit and departure, refugees and migrants lack basic legal safeguards and are forced into the fringes of society.
Undocumented and often afraid, migrants and refugees are exposed to serious human rights violations including arbitrary detention, slavery, extortion, kidnapping and torture. Although Law 19 remains widely unimplemented today, it continues to feed a culture of systematic abuse including the arbitrary and unlawful detention of migrants and refugees in the country.
Refugees and migrants in Libya have for years bore the brunt of the lawlessness that prevails in the country since the uprising in 2011. For years they have endured violence and suffered at the hands of smugglers, armed groups, and militias. Commonly perceived to carry diseases, the longstanding xenophobia is likely to inflate as the pandemic threatens to exacerbate an already existing human rights crisis in the country.
Consequently, the conflict, a pandemic and xenophobia are a deadly combination that has most definitely exasperated the vulnerability of migrants and refugees in the recent weeks. The current situation has not only intensified fears, but is also responsible for bringing an end to their livelihood, restricting movement, limiting access to food and assistance, and placing great strains on their survival.
Access to health services
Traditionally, refugees and migrants are excluded from state funded essential services including health care. Instead, they receive support from international organisations such UNHCR, IOM and others which fill the gap and address the humanitarian needs of refugees and migrants in the country.
In the wake of the pandemic, and as many of these organisations scaled back on their operations, there is limited access to health care for migrants and refugees on the ground, ultimately placing the population at greater risk. IOM reports that 71% of refugees and migrants interviewed recently claimed limited or no access to any health services in Libya. This is confirmed by similar reports that found migrants and refugees in Libya less likely to access health services, due to discrimination, lack of documentation, and overall fear due to the prevailing insecurity in the country.