IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 644 

Strongly condemning the slave auctions of migrants and refugees in Libya, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 4, 2017 

Ms. BASS (for herself, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. POE of Texas, Ms. LEE, Mr. RICHMOND, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. CLYBURN, Ms. NORTON, Ms. EDDIE

BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. CLAY, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. MOORE, Mr. 

COHEN, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. FUDGE, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, 

Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. JEFFRIES, Mr. O’ROURKE, Mr. POCAN, Mr. VEASEY, 

Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Ms. PLASKETT, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. 

BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mrs. LAWRENCE, 

Mrs. LOVE, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. RUSH, Mr. PALLONE, and 

Ms. ADAMS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Strongly condemning the slave auctions of migrants and 

refugees in Libya, and for other purposes. 

Whereas on, November 14, 2017, a Cable News Network 

(CNN) investigation uncovered slave auctions of migrants 

and refugees in Libya; 

Whereas in April 2017, the International Organization for 

Migration (IOM) gathered evidence and issued a warning 

about slave markets in Libya; 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HRES 644 IH 

Whereas in December 2016, the United Nations Office of the 

High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reported that many migrants in Libya are forced to work 

for no pay on farms, as domestic workers, construction 

and road paving workers, and rubbish collectors, including by or for guards working in detention centers run by 

Libya’s Department for Combatting Illegal Migration 

(DCIM); 

Whereas Libya is a primary transit hub for migrants and refugees attempting to reach Southern Europe by sea and 

the United Nations estimates that there are now between 

700,000 and one million migrants and refugees in the 

country; 

Whereas human smuggling and trafficking has become a lucrative trade as a result of the power vacuum in Libya 

after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011; 

Whereas OHCHR reported that DCIM guards torture, sexually assault, and otherwise abuse detainees, there is no 

refugee registration process or legal procedures to challenge detention, and conditions are generally inhumane— 

including severe overcrowding and inadequate access to 

toilets, washing facilities, food, and clean water; 

Whereas the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) reported that unaccompanied 

children who crossed the Mediterranean suffered enslavement, violence, and sexual abuse at the hands of smugglers and traffickers; 

Whereas UNICEF reported not all migrants and refugees are 

held in centers run by DCIM and that some are held in 

unofficial camps run by armed groups; 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HRES 644 IH 

Whereas Libya’s weak central government and continuing political turmoil is a contributing factor for the insecurity 

in the country and it has been reported that the Government of National Accord does not control the entire country; 

Whereas poverty and insecurity are the key drivers of migration in the sub-Saharan countries from which many of 

the migrants originate; and 

Whereas slavery has no place in the world: Now, therefore, 

be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) strongly condemns slave auctions of mi3 grants and refugees in Libya; 

4 (2) calls upon the Government of Libya to— 

5 (A) conduct an immediate investigation 

6 into the existence of slave auctions and forced 

7 labor involving migrants and refugees; 

8 (B) hold smugglers, traffickers, detention 

9 center guards, and anyone else involved ac10 countable; 

11 (C) manage migration flows in a humane 

12 manner; 

13 (D) urgently end the violent and inhumane 

14 conditions of official migrant detention centers 

15 and generally manage migration flows in a hu16 mane manner; and 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HRES 644 IH 

1 (E) swiftly register asylum seekers and 

2 fairly process their refugee claims and do not 

3 detain them; 

4 (3) calls upon the United Nations to— 

5 (A) investigate allegations of the slave 

6 trade and other forced labor in Libya; 

7 (B) encourage Libya to allow the United 

8 Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights 

9 to regularly monitor and publicly report on the 

10 situation of all refugees and migrants in Libya, 

11 including those detained in official detention 

12 centers; and 

13 (C) impose sanctions against Libya if the 

14 country fails to end slave auctions and other 

15 forms of forced labor; 

16 (4) calls upon the African Union to— 

17 (A) conduct its own investigation into slave 

18 auctions of African refugees and migrants in 

19 Libya; 

20 (B) work to assist migrants in Libya who 

21 genuinely wish to return home; and 

22 (C) impose sanctions against Libya if the 

23 slave auctions and other forms of forced labor 

24 do not end; 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HRES 644 IH 

1 (5) calls upon the Secretary of State and the 

2 Administrator of the United States Agency for 

3 International Development to use funds authorized 

4 and appropriated for— 

5 (A) provision of humanitarian assistance to 

6 migrants and refugees in detention centers in 

7 Libya; and 

8 (B) the development of a holistic strategy 

9 for Libya to address the political and security 

10 situation that includes issues related to mi11 grants and refugees in detention centers; and 

12 (6) calls upon the President to ensure the De13 partment of State and the United States Agency for 

14 International Development are adequately staffed to 

15 monitor and develop strategies to rapidly respond to 

16 the migrant and refugee situation in Libya. 

Æ 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS