United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday that there are more than 12,000 official detainees in 27 prisons and detention facilities across Libya, while thousands are also being held illegally in facilities controlled by armed groups.
Guterres explained in a report published by the Associated Press that the United Nations political mission in Libya continues to document cases of arbitrary detention, torture, sexual violence, and other violations of international law in facilities run by the government and other groups, noting that thousands of detainees do not appear in Official statistics provided by the Libyan authorities.
Guterres indicated that female and male migrants and refugees still face increased risks of being raped, sexual harassment and human trafficking at the hands of armed groups, in addition to officials in the Libyan Anti-Illegal Migration Authority, which is under the supervision of the Ministry of Interior.
Guterres indicated that the United Nations Support Mission in Libya documented cases in Maitiqa prison and several detention centers run by the Anti-Illegal Migration Authority in Azawiya, and in and around the capital, Tripoli.
Guterres confirmed that the UN mission had received reliable information about human trafficking and sexual abuse of about 30 Nigerian women and children.
