Libya has become a transit route for migrants fleeing conflict and poverty to Europe across the Mediterranean since the fall in 2011 of dictator Muammar Gaddafi to a NATO-backed uprising. The Libya mission in Geneva did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It cited an Eritrean woman who was detained for over six weeks at a trafficking house in Tobruk, in eastern Libya. Girls as young as 14 were raped daily," she said. The report ‌emphasised the importance of life-saving search and rescue operations ​for migrants at sea but urged the international community to halt returns to Libya until adequate human rights safeguards are ensured.

Source: Libya Today February 17, 2026 18:44 UTC