Libya

Libya

Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

 is a transit and destination country for men and women from sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...

 and Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

 trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation

Sexual slavery

Sexual slavery is when unwilling people are coerced into slavery for sexual exploitation. The incidence of sexual slavery by country has been studied and tabulated by UNESCO, with the cooperation of various international agencies...

. While most foreigners in Libya are economic migrants, in some cases large smuggling debts of $500–$2,000 and illegal status leave them vulnerable to various forms of coercion

Coercion

Coercion is the practice of forcing another party to behave in an involuntary manner by use of threats or intimidation or some other form of pressure or force. In law, coercion is codified as the duress crime. Such actions are used as leverage, to force the victim to act in the desired way...

, resulting in cases of forced prostitution

Prostitution

Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...

 and forced labor. As in previous years, there were isolated reports that women from sub-Saharan Africa were trafficked to Libya for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation. Although precise figures are unavailable, foreign observers estimate that approximately one to two percent of Libya’s 1.5 to 2 million foreigners may be victims of trafficking.

The Government of Libya does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, but is making significant efforts to do so. Libya is placed on Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to address trafficking in persons over the previous year, particularly in the area of investigating and prosecuting trafficking offenses. During the year, Libya provided in-kind assistance to training programs designed to educate law enforcement and civil society groups about trafficking. The government also appointed a national anti-trafficking coordinator responsible for Libya’s efforts to protect trafficking victims and punish trafficking offenders. As in previous years, however, Libya did not publicly release any data on investigations or punishment of any trafficking offenses.

Prosecution

The Government of Libya provided no public information on its law enforcement efforts to punish trafficking in persons during the reporting period. Libya’s laws do not prohibit trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor. The government failed to provide data on any criminal investigations, prosecutions, conviction

Conviction

In law, a conviction is the verdict that results when a court of law finds a defendant guilty of a crime.The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal . In Scotland and in the Netherlands, there can also be a verdict of "not proven", which counts as an acquittal...

s or sentences for trafficking offenses this year, although senior officials noted during the year that Libya prosecuted individuals for confiscating foreign workers’ passport

Passport

A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....

s until the workers had repaid an alleged and sizeable smuggling ‘debt.’ Widespread corruption

Political corruption

Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...

 in the country may facilitate trafficking, but the government did not report prosecuting, convicting, or sentencing any official for complicity. In addition, Libya provided in-kind assistance for IOM training of law enforcement officials, including border security and customs, on trafficking.

Protection

Libya took minimal steps to improve protection of victims of trafficking this year. The government did not provide protection services such as psychological or legal assistance to victims of trafficking. Libya provided in-kind support to a program that trained over 80 law enforcement officers and civil society activists to medically assist trafficking victims. Recognizing that many government officials still fail to distinguish between trafficking victims in need of protective services and other migrants, the government permitted international organizations access to vulnerable Eritreans, Ethiopians, Somalis, Sudanese, and Iraqis to screen for evidence of trafficking. While trafficking victims remained susceptible to punishment for unlawful acts, such as immigration violations and prostitution, committed as a result of being trafficked, during the reporting period, there were no reports that trafficking victims were deported. The government does not actively encourage victims to participate in investigations and prosecutions against their traffickers.

Prevention

During the reporting period, Libya took no discernible action to prevent trafficking in persons. The government did not conduct any public awareness campaigns to highlight the issue of trafficking in persons. Libya also did not take any measures to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts. Similarly, Libya did not undertake any public awareness campaigns targeting citizens traveling to known child sex tourism destinations abroad.