International Institute for Rights and Development- Geneva (IRDG) & Human Rights Solidarity (HRS)

Madam President, while we, at International Institute for Rights and Development- Geneva and Human Rights Solidarity, welcome the report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, and while we concur the exacerbation of the suffering of migrants and asylum seekers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we would like to draw the attention of your esteemed Council to the fact that the European Union’s policies to restrict migration, and Libya’s policies of criminalizing immigration further aggravated the situation of migrants in Libya.

The COVID-19 pandemic has diminished job opportunities for migrants and asylum seekers, due to the precautionary measures of social distancing and prolonged curfews. In conjunction with the policies of the EU’s refusal to receive migrants, intercepted at sea, all this increased the vulnerability of their situation and thus practices amounting to slavery increased.

We, in cooperation with local partners, have been following up with local authorities and international organizations the cases of many victims of exploitation, including, for example, eight victims of exploitation that amount to slavery, and regrettably, to date, efforts to put an end to the suffering of these victims and others have not succeeded.

Madam President, we call on your esteemed Council to urge the Libyan authorities to review their immigration legislation, which violates international human rights law, and to put an end to the violations in its detention centers. We also call on the Council to urge the European Union countries to stop returning migrants to Libya, and to adopt policies that respect the rights of migrants and asylum seekers.