Human Rights Concern–Eritrea (HRCE) calls for their immediate release, unhindered access to UNHCR and safe humanitarian pathways to safety.
London, 31 August 2026 — Eritrean refugees and asylum-seekers currently trapped or detained in Libya have contacted HRCE directly, appealing to the organisation to be their voice and bring their suffering to the attention of the international community.
Eritrean refugees and asylum-seekers in Libya contacted HRCE directly and asked the organisation to be their voice and bring their suffering and urgent protection needs to the attention of UN agencies, governments, human-rights organisations and the international community.
Those who contacted HRCE described arbitrary detention in overcrowded and substandard facilities, severe hunger, inadequate drinking water, illness and the denial of essential medical treatment. They reported cases of tuberculosis, suspected scabies and other serious skin diseases and infections. They also described exposure to torture, rape, killings and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
Their identities and precise locations are not being disclosed publicly because doing so could expose them, their relatives or other detainees to retaliation and further harm.
“These refugees and asylum-seekers contacted us because they feel abandoned and voiceless. They asked us to tell the world what is happening to them and to appeal for their freedom and protection. HRCE cannot remain silent while people who escaped persecution in Eritrea are again being imprisoned, starved, abused, tortured and denied the protection they desperately need in Libya,” said Elizabeth Chyrum, Director of Human Rights Concern–Eritrea.
From persecution in Eritrea to further abuse in Libya
Many Eritreans fled their country to escape indefinite national service, arbitrary imprisonment, enforced disappearance, religious persecution and the denial of fundamental freedoms.
Some initially sought refuge in Sudan but were forced to flee again after war made that country unsafe. Instead of finding safety in Libya, they have encountered further violence, exploitation and detention.
A joint report issued by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on 17 February 2026 documented systematic violations against migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers in Libya. These included killings, torture, sexual violence, slavery, forced prostitution, forced labour, trafficking, ransom demands, extortion and arbitrary detention.
The UN report included harrowing testimony from Eritrean women who described repeated rape and extreme violence in trafficking facilities. It concluded that the exploitation of vulnerable refugees and migrants had become a brutal and normalised “business model”.
Libya’s fragmented political and security environment, the involvement of armed groups and trafficking networks, and the absence of effective accountability have left refugees and asylum-seekers exposed to grave abuses.
Some violations reportedly occur in official detention centres, while others take place in unofficial prisons, private compounds, warehouses, farms and underground detention sites.
Hunger, tuberculosis and serious skin diseases
Detainees have reported severe hunger, inadequate food and drinking water, overcrowding, poor sanitation and the denial of essential medical care.
Reports indicate that tuberculosis and other infectious illnesses are spreading in detention, alongside suspected scabies and other painful or serious skin diseases and infections. In overcrowded and unhygienic facilities, the absence of adequate diagnosis, isolation, medication and medical supervision places detainees’ lives at immediate risk.
Children, pregnant women, older people, people with disabilities and those already weakened by torture, sexual violence, trafficking or prolonged deprivation are particularly vulnerable.
Independent medical teams and humanitarian organisations must be given immediate and unrestricted access to all detention sites. Urgent screening and treatment must be provided for tuberculosis, scabies and other communicable diseases, together with adequate food, clean drinking water, sanitation, medication and transfer to appropriate medical facilities when necessary.
Humanitarian assistance, however, cannot make arbitrary detention acceptable.
Online petition calls for freedom and protection
An online petition launched on 28 August 2026, entitled Free the Refugees Detained in Libya and Protect Semira’s Daughter, had attracted more than 17,120 verified signatures by 31 August.
The petition reports that large numbers of refugees and asylum-seekers, including Eritreans, are being held at Ganfouda, near Benghazi, and in Tajoura. It alleges that detainees have been denied adequate food, medical treatment and effective access to international protection.
According to the petition, an 18-year-old Eritrean refugee named Filmon reportedly died while detained at Ganfouda after becoming seriously ill with tuberculosis and allegedly failing to receive the medical treatment he urgently needed.
The petition also alleges that, on 18 August 2026, detainees seeking food and medical assistance were met with gunfire, resulting in injuries, and that the injured were subsequently denied medical treatment.
These serious allegations require an immediate, independent and transparent investigation. UNHCR, UNSMIL, OHCHR, independent medical personnel and human-rights monitors must be granted unrestricted access to the detainees and the locations concerned.
Urgent protection needed for Semira’s daughter
The petition further calls for urgent protection for the surviving daughter of an Eritrean woman identified as Semira.
According to the information presented, Semira fled Eritrea, sought refuge in Sudan and was forced to flee again because of the war. She and her daughter were reportedly detained in Libya and later registered with UNHCR.
The petition states that Semira died at sea on 3 August 2026 while attempting to reach safety, but that her daughter survived and remains in Libya.
HRCE calls upon UNHCR and all relevant child-protection agencies to urgently:
- Establish the child’s identity, location, safety and welfare;
- Provide safe accommodation, appropriate care and qualified legal guardianship;
- Protect her from detention, trafficking, exploitation and further harm;
- Conduct a formal best-interests assessment, and;
- Arrange an urgent humanitarian transfer to a safe country where this is determined to be in her best interests.
This child has already lost her mother while searching for safety. She must not be abandoned in the same dangerous circumstances from which her mother attempted to escape.
All arbitrarily detained refugees must be released
HRCE calls for the immediate release of all refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants arbitrarily detained in substandard official or unofficial facilities, where they may be exposed to torture, rape, killings, hunger, disease and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
Upon release, everyone who may require international protection, including those who have not previously been registered, must be given safe, confidential and unhindered access to UNHCR.
They must be permitted to register, present their protection claims and obtain appropriate documentation, legal assistance, medical treatment, psychosocial support and protection against rearrest, retaliation, exploitation and refoulement.
Women, children, unaccompanied minors, survivors of torture, trafficking or sexual violence, people with disabilities and those requiring urgent medical treatment must be prioritised for release and protection.
Safe accommodation and non-custodial alternatives must be provided while evacuation, resettlement, family reunification and other durable solutions are pursued.
Registration must mean more than receiving a number and then being left indefinitely without safety, freedom or a meaningful path forward.
HRCE’s demands
Human Rights Concern–Eritrea urgently calls upon:
- UNHCR to locate and register Eritrean refugees and asylum-seekers, seek access to every place where they may be confined, advocate for their immediate release and ensure that released individuals are not rearrested;
- UNSMIL and OHCHR to investigate and publicly report allegations of shootings, deaths, torture, rape, denial of medical care and other violations against Eritrean and other refugees;
- All authorities and armed groups exercising control in Libya to release arbitrarily detained refugees and migrants and grant unrestricted access to UN agencies, independent monitors, lawyers, medical teams and humanitarian organisations;
- UNHCR and humanitarian agencies to provide emergency food, clean water, medical treatment, tuberculosis screening, treatment for scabies and other diseases, psychosocial assistance and safe accommodation;
- Competent international and national investigative bodies to preserve evidence and investigate trafficking, torture, rape, slavery, deaths in custody and other crimes, including the responsibility of officials or armed actors who participated in, facilitated or knowingly tolerated these abuses;
- The European Union and its member states to ensure that migration cooperation, funding, training, equipment and other assistance do not contribute to interception, return, collective expulsion or detention in abusive conditions in Libya;
- States with resettlement programmes to provide emergency evacuation, humanitarian admission, resettlement, family reunification and other safe pathways, particularly for children, women, survivors of torture or sexual violence and people requiring urgent medical care; and
- All states to respect the principle of non-refoulement and ensure that no Eritrean is forcibly returned to Eritrea or transferred to any other place where they face persecution, torture, enforced disappearance or other serious harm.
Protection must mean safety, freedom and a genuine path towards a secure future. Libya must not become a prison with no exit for people who have already fled persecution and war.
These violations must end. Everyone arbitrarily detained must be released, survivors must receive immediate protection and assistance, and all actors with influence in Libya must work urgently to ensure the safety, dignity and humane treatment of refugees and asylum-seekers.
No detainee should face retaliation for asking for food, reporting abuse, requesting medical care or seeking international protection.
Human Rights Concern – Eritrea (HRCE)
Email: eritrea.facts@gmail.com
Website: www.hrc-eritrea.org
Supporting Reports and Further Information
- UNSMIL and OHCHR, Migrants in Libya: Victims of a “violent business model” of systemic violations and abuses, 17 February 2026:
https://unsmil.unmissions.org/en/press-releases/migrants-libya-victims-violent-business-model-systemic-violations-and-abuses - UNHCR, Annual Results Report 2025—Libya. https://www.unhcr.org/media/libya-annual-results-report-2025
- Human Rights Watch, Libya: Anti-Migrant Rhetoric Fuels Abuses, 2 July 2026:
https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/07/02/libya-anti-migrant-rhetoric-fuels-abuses - Change.org, Free the Refugees Detained in Libya and Protect Semira’s Daughter, launched 28 August 2026:
https://www.change.org/p/free-the-refugees-detained-in-libya-and-protect-semira-s-daughter
