• EN - English
Parliamentary question - E-000532/2018Parliamentary question
E-000532/2018

VP/HR — Forced labour among migrants in Libya

Question for written answer E-000532-18
to the Commission (Vice-President/High Representative)
Rule 130
Charles Tannock (ECR)

The number of crossings of the Mediterranean Sea to Europe fell last year to 119 000, partly as a result of EU efforts to support the Libyan coast guard and also thanks to the EUNAVFOR MED Operation Sophia for apprehending traffickers in people.

However, it is increasingly apparent that although crossings have fallen, the situation for migrants is rapidly deteriorating, with an estimated 500 000 to one million migrants now trapped in Libya.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein, recently referred to the conditions in Libya for migrants as ‘appalling’. The International Organisation for Migration reported in April 2017 that slave markets in the country were commonplace, and a UN report found that the ‘overwhelming majority’ of migrants in Libya had been subjected to forced labour.

Is the VP/HR aware of an increase in slave markets, forced labour and arbitrary detention of migrants in government detention centres in Libya?

What analysis has been done of the impact of Operation Sophia on the increased use of more dangerous trafficking routes?

What can the EU further do to dissuade migrants from making the journey to Europe?

Last updated: 13 February 2018
Legal notice - Privacy policy