Libyan Black Slave Trade in 2017

Courtesy of BBC

Quick History of Slave Trade in Libya:

• Libya, a country that is as big as France, has a long history of slavery which had a lasting impact on the Libyan culture —
• It is closely connected with the wider context of slavery in North Africa.

• The indigenous Tuareg and other indigenous people —
• Facilitated, taxed, and partly organized the trade from the South along the trans-Saharan trade routes.   

• In the 1830s, a period of time when slave trade flourished — 
• Ghadames (an oasis town) was handling 2,500 slaves a year. 
• Although the slave trade was officially abolished in Tripoli in 1853, in practice it continued until the 1930s.

Slavery in Post-Gaddafi Era: 

• Since the NATO-backed overthrow of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on October 31, 2011— 
• Libya has been plagued by disorder and the migrants with little cash and no papers have become vulnerable.  




• After a clampdown on sea crossings from Turkey >> Libya is a major exit point for African migrants heading to Europe —
• International Organization for Migration (IOM) published a report in April 2017 showing that >>
• Many of the migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa heading to Europe are sold as slaves after being detained by:
• People smugglers
• Militia groups

• African countries geographically below Libya were targeted for slave trading and transferred to Libyan slave markets instead.

• According to the victims, the price is higher for migrants with skills like painting and tiling. 

• Slaves are often ransomed to their families and in the meantime until the ransom can be paid are:
• Tortured
• Forced to work -- sometimes to death.
• Eventually executed -- or left to starve if they can't pay for too long.   
• Women are often raped and used as sex slaves and sold to brothels and private Libyan clients.
• Many child migrants also suffer from abuse and child rape in Libya.
• Migrants are buried without being identified with families back home uncertain of their fate.

Video Footage of a 2017 Migrant Slave Auction:

• Footage uncovered by CNN in November 2017 —
• CNN witnessed a dozen men being auctioned off for as little as $400 each.
• There are slave markets at 9 locations across Libya

• A large number of the African migrants that are being traded in these slave markets, most being subjected to sexual exploitation, while others are left to starve in Libya are mostly from: 
• Nigeria
• Niger
• Senegal
• Gambia
• Ghana
• Ivory Coast
• Burkina Faso
• Guinea

• West African migrants have recounted being bought and sold in garages and car parks.
• They are traded for between $200 and $500.
• Are held on average for 2 or 3 months.

• The Mediterranean sea between Libya and Italy has become the main crossing point for asylum seekers in Europe.
• The United Nations estimates there are now between 700,000 and a 1,000,000 migrants in the country.
• Migrants languish in unsanitary, disease-ridden detention centers, which Unicef described in its report as “no more than forced labor camps ... and makeshift prisons”. 
• Migrants who have crossed the Mediterranean have shared stories about:
• Beatings
• Rapes
• Kidnappings
• Enslavement

Not Enough International Outcry:

• United Nations:
• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that "slavery has no place in our world and these actions are among the most egregious abuses of human rights and may amount to crimes against humanity”.

• France: 
• President Emmanuel Macron branding the auctions a crime against humanity.
• Requested an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council.
• Protests outside of the Libyan embassy in France.

• Burkina Faso: 
• Foreign Minister, Alpha Barry told the press that he had summoned the Libyan ambassador to the capital Ouagadougou for consultations. 
• The issue has since been added to the agenda of next week's African Union meeting in Ivory Coast.

• Ivory Coast: 
• Representatives of the Ivorian government said that the health of those migrants returned from Libya was in a "deplorable state.”

• Mali:
• Protests outside of the Libyan embassy in Mali.

• Guinea:
• Protests outside of the Libyan embassy in Guinea.