Libya is a transit and destination country for men and women from sub-Saharan Africa and Asia trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation.
[1][2][3] As of June 2008[update] and as in previous years, there had been isolated reports that women from sub-Saharan Africa were trafficked to Libya for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation.
[6][7][8] The same year, journalists Meron Estefanos and Mirjam Van Reisen conducted interviews with Eritrean refugees who were smuggled to Libya through Sudan.
[10] In 2022, scholars showed that contemporary trafficking from sub-Saharan Africa to Libya could lead to different forms of captivity, such as debt bondage, prison labor, and hostage taking for ransom.
In addition, Libya provided in-kind assistance for IOM training of law enforcement officials, including border security and customs, on trafficking.
Libya provided in-kind support to a program that trained over 80 law enforcement officers and civil society activists to medically assist trafficking victims.
Similarly, Libya did not undertake any public awareness campaigns targeting citizens traveling to known child sex tourism destinations abroad.