Threat of Enslavement Hangs Over Reported Plans to Deport Migrants from US to Libya

Strategic Insights -

Human rights organisations have expressed alarm at possible US plans to send a group of migrants from Vietnam, Laos, and the Philippines to Libya on a military flight. The situation is dire for tens of thousands of refugees and migrants who wind up in Libya each year in an attempt to cross into Europe. The threat of enslavement poses a real threat to anyone sent there. Migrants, including Eritreans, have described the conditions in Libya's detention centres as "harsh and life-threatening", with reports of forced prostitution, enslavement, and forced labour.

Key Takeaways:

  • The US plans to send a group of migrants from Vietnam, Laos, and the Philippines to Libya on a military flight, sparking alarm from human rights organisations.
  • Libya's detention centres are known to be harsh and life-threatening, with reports of forced prostitution, enslavement, and forced labour.
  • Eritreans have described the conditions in Tajoura detention centre, where Libyans come to select people to work, with some referring to the labourers as "slaves".
  • The UN has estimated that traffickers receive fees ranging from $850 to $4,500 per migrant for crossing the Mediterranean.
  • US officials say the military could start flying migrants to Libya imminently, despite authorities in Tripoli rejecting the use of Libyan territory as a destination for deporting migrants without its knowledge or consent.
  • A federal judge in Massachusetts has ruled that the deportation of immigrants to Libya would be in violation of a court order, but the Trump administration's record suggests it does not always follow such rulings.
  • Migrants, including David Yambio, president of the Refugees in Libya movement, have confirmed that slavery is taking place inside Directorate for Combating Illegal Migration detention facilities.
  • The proposed US scheme is not connected to the Libyan organisations involved in slavery, according to US officials, including President Trump, who has denied any knowledge of the Libya deportations.

Statistics:

  • 15,718 migrants from across the world made "illegal border crossings" by traversing the central Mediterranean from Libya in April 2025, according to Frontex (European border force).
  • The number of migrants attempting to reach Europe via Libya is expected to continue, with tens of thousands of refugees and migrants attempting to cross each year.
  • The UN has reported an estimated 130 women still enduring conditions similar to enslavement inside Al-Nasr detention centre (known as Osama Prison) in Zawiya.
  • Researchers have found that traffickers receive fees ranging from $850 to $4,500 per migrant for crossing the Mediterranean.

Sources:

  • The Conversation -- UK -- By Martin Plaut, Senior Research Fellow, Horn of Africa and Southern Africa, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London
  • CNN report from 2017 on migrant slave auctions in Libya
  • Guardian report from 2017 on migrant slave auctions in Libya
  • UN fact-finding mission to Libya in 2023
  • US State Department 2023 Libya review
  • Frontex (European border force) records of migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean in April 2025
  • Refugees in Libya movement, led by David Yambio