Earlier this month in an investigative piece, CNN
released video of an auction taking place. It was not an auction for a
piece of art or another item one might bid on but an auction for human
beings--human beings sold for the equivalent of $400. The reports were a wake-up call for the world about the gravity of
this situation in North Africa as migrants fleeing danger and economic
hardship face new horrors on their journey to seek a better future. The
wars in the Middle East and instability in North Africa have upended
huge swaths of the region, displacing thousands of vulnerable men,
women, and children. Thousands of people fleeing Africa and the Middle
East make their way through Libya, hoping to cross the Mediterranean. Unfortunately, many of them face horrifying human rights abuses and
danger along the way. Because of Libya's limited capacity to govern, its restrictive
policies against migrants, and its inability or refusal to accommodate
the migrants, conditions are ripe for exploitation and abuse in their
detention centers. Particularly horrifying have been reports from
survivors about the exploitation at the hands of smugglers who are
openly engaging in human slavery, preying on the most vulnerable, who
have surrendered everything for a shot at the future. Migrants have
been subjected to horrible human rights abuses in Libya over the past
few years, including forced labor, torture, and sexual violence. The administration must put this issue front and center when we
engage with Libyan officials and demand accountability and progress. Sadly, it appears the administration missed such an opportunity to
address this issue during Prime Minister Fayiz al-Saraj's visit to
Washington earlier this month. The United Nations-backed Government of National Accord in Tripoli,
however, has taken an important step in acknowledging these abuses and
is requesting international support. The European Union and African
Union evacuation plan to repatriate the detained migrants that was
agreed upon in the Ivory Coast is a move in the right direction. In 2016, the United States provided emergency funding for the
International Organization for Migration--the IOM--to help shut down
migrant detentions centers in Libya. While the EU rightly picked up the
majority of funding to repatriate migrants, the United States should
once again consider another emergency infusion to the IOM to help
accelerate the closure of these facilities in addition to the $31
million in foreign operations funding for Libya that the administration
requested this year. Additionally, we have a former American Ambassador, William Lacy
Swing, who is the Director General of the International Organization
for Migration. He is on the frontlines of this fight and stands ready
to work with Libyan authorities, the European Union, and African Union
countries so that he can help address this crisis. The United States
can play an important role in supporting Director General Swing and
other international efforts to protect these migrants from exploitation
and abuse. Human rights are essential to the functioning and well-being of our
global community, and that community is threatened when migrants
fleeing persecution are forced into inhumane, exploitative conditions
and slavery. Given this country's own dark history with slavery, we
cannot afford to remain silent in the face of such suffering. We must
stand together with
the help of the United Nations and other international partners to
eradicate slavery and the conditions that precipitate it.
Keywords matched
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