DAKAR: Most African migrants suffer abuse, torture and rape as they cross lawless Libya in pursuit of a new life in Europe, Oxfam said on Wednesday as it urged Europe to offer safer routes.
The voyage from Libya across the Mediterranean Sea to Italy — often on flimsy boats run by people smugglers — is the main route to Europe for migrants from Africa, with more than 95,000 people having set sail this year, and 180,000 in 2016.
Before they even embark on the perilous sea leg of their voyage, many migrants end up detained in Libya, and face abuse, extortion, and forced labor at the hands of armed groups, criminal gangs and smugglers, aid agencies say.
Migrants who made it to Italy told Oxfam how they were kept in cells full of dead bodies, forced to call their families to demand ransom money, and beaten and starved for months on end.
Three-quarters of the 160-odd arrivals interviewed by the charity saw a fellow migrant tortured or killed, while at least eight in 10 said they suffered “inhuman or degrading treatment.”
“These are people who are escaping war, persecution and — and yet in Libya they encounter another hell,” Roberto Barbieri, head of Oxfam Italy, said in a statement.
Several African migrants who were once detained in Libya have told the Thomson Reuters Foundation of the “hell” they endured — beaten, raped and watching others die.
All but one of the 31 women migrants who spoke to Oxfam said they had faced sexual violence in Libya. Esther, a 28-year-old from Nigeria, told the charity she had suffered a miscarriage after regular beatings during her five months in detention.
“I lost my poor little child who was in my womb due to the beatings... and my sister died from the beatings and abuse. I lost a lot of blood without receiving any help,” she said.
Many women migrants take birth control such as contraceptive injections before leaving home as they fear rape and falling pregnant along the journey, activists say.
Oxfam urged European nations to stop pursuing migration policies that prevent people leaving Libya by sea, which the charity said puts migrants at risk of abuse and exploitation.
“People must come first,” said Barbieri of Oxfam. “The EU should provide safe routes for people to come to Europe and have access to a fair and transparent processes for claiming asylum.”
Most African migrants crossing Libya fall prey to abuse: Oxfam
Most African migrants crossing Libya fall prey to abuse: Oxfam
Saudi, Arab and muslim ministers voice deep concern over worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza
DUBAI: The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkiye, Qatar and Egypt expressed deep concern over the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip on Friday.
A statement published by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs on X cited severe weather conditions and restrictions on humanitarian access as key factors exacerbating civilian suffering.
It said flooded camps, collapsed structures, damaged tents and exposure to cold temperatures had significantly increased risks to civilian lives, particularly among children, women, the elderly and those with medical vulnerabilities.
The ministers warned that the combination of malnutrition, poor shelter and lack of clean water has heightened the risk of disease outbreaks, placing additional strain on Gaza’s fragile health system.
The statement commended the efforts of UN agencies, particularly UNRWA, as well as international humanitarian organizations, for continuing to provide assistance under extremely challenging conditions.
The ministers stressed that humanitarian organizations must be allowed to operate in Gaza and the occupied West Bank in a sustained, predictable and unrestricted manner, describing any obstruction of their work as unacceptable.
The statement highlighted support for UN Security Council Resolution 2803 and US President Donald Trump’s “Comprehensive Plan,” as well as the ministers’ intention to contribute to efforts aimed at sustaining the ceasefire, ending the war in Gaza, and enabling early recovery and reconstruction.
The ministers also called on the international community to fulfill its legal and moral responsibilities, urging Israel, as the occupying power, to immediately lift restrictions on the entry and distribution of essential supplies, including shelter materials, medical aid, fuel, clean water and sanitation support.
They also demanded the immediate, full, and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance into Gaza through the UN and its agencies, the rehabilitation of critical infrastructure and hospitals, and the opening of the Rafah Crossing in both directions, in line with Trump’s plan.
