H. Res. 644 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

July 10, 2018. 

Whereas Libya has become the primary transit hub for migrants and refugees attempting to reach Southern Europe; 

Whereas in December 2016, the United Nations Office of the 

High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that 

many migrants and refugees in Libya are forced to work 

without pay as farm laborers, domestic workers, construction workers, and rubbish collectors; 

Whereas beginning in 2017, multiple news and international 

organizations began reporting on the existence of slave 

auctions of migrants and refugees in Libya; 

Whereas the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons 

Report 2017 for Libya stated that migrants held in detention centers controlled by both Libya’s Department to 

Combat Irregular Migration (DCIM) and non-state 

armed groups are subject to severe abuse, rampant sexual violence, forced labor, and other human rights abuses; 

Whereas on February 12, 2018, the United Nations Secretary-General reported to the United Nations Security 

Council that the humanitarian situation in Libya had recently deteriorated further, and that ‘‘Refugees and mi-
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grants continued to be subjected to violence, forced labor, 

and other grave violations and abuses.’’; 

Whereas the Presidency Council of the Government of National Accord affirmed the depravity of slavery and 

human trafficking and initiated an investigation into such 

acts within Libya; 

Whereas a September 2017, report from the United Nations 

International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) determined that unaccompanied children who crossed the 

Mediterranean from Libya suffered enslavement, violence, 

and sexual abuse at the hands of smugglers and traffickers; 

Whereas in November 2017, a joint European Union-African 

Union-United Nations Task Force was established to 

protect migrants along migration routes to, from, and in 

Libya; 

Whereas since December 2017, the International Organization for Migration has facilitated the return of more than 

15,000 migrants to their homes from Libya through a 

voluntary humanitarian program, and the United Nations 

High Commissioner for Refugees has evacuated more 

than 1,300 refugees from Libya as of March 2018; 

Whereas the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya in 2011 led 

to significant political turmoil and insecurity within the 

country; 

Whereas in December 2017, the Libyan Political Agreement 

was reaffirmed as the internationally-supported framework for creating a unified Libyan government; 

Whereas, despite this agreement, the prolonged and continuing absence of a unified Libyan government has resulted in a power vacuum in which human trafficking 
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and smuggling have emerged as a lucrative trade and 

funds obtained from the transfer, sale, and exploitation 

of migrants are used to fund armed militias competing 

for territory, influence, and control of institutions; and 

Whereas the United States has repeatedly condemned slavery, 

involuntary servitude, and other elements of trafficking 

as a grave violation of human rights and a matter of 

pressing international concern: Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

(1) strongly condemns slave auctions and the exploitation of migrants and refugees as forced laborers in 

Libya; 

(2) calls upon all parties to the conflict in Libya, 

including parties to the Libyan Political Agreement, to— 

(A) investigate and eradicate slave auctions 

and forced labor involving migrants and refugees; 

(B) hold those identified in the investigation 

accountable in courts of law; 

(C) manage migration flows and migrant detention centers in a humane manner; and 

(D) investigate how funds earned through the 

transfer, sale, and exploitation of migrants are used 

and the extent to which such profits are fueling and 

prolonging Libya’s civil conflict; 

(3) calls upon the United Nations to— 

(A) investigate allegations of the slave trade 

and other forced labor in Libya; 
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(B) advocate that all parties to the conflict in 

Libya, including parties to the Libyan Political 

Agreement, allow the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to regularly monitor 

and publicly report on the situation of all refugees 

and migrants in Libya, including those in detention 

centers; and 

(C) expand sanctions under United Nations 

Security Council Resolution 2174 (2014) against individuals and entities responsible for slave auctions 

and forced labor of migrants and refugees in Libya; 

(4) calls upon the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development to ensure that any strategies, programs, or other efforts to address the political and security situation in Libya appropriately address the 

vulnerabilities faced by migrants and refugees; and 

(5) urges the Secretary of State to ensure that the 

country narrative for Libya in the annual Trafficking in 

Persons Report fully and accurately reflects the scope of 

trafficking in persons in that country, including any 

complicity by parties to the Libyan Political Agreement 

or other governmental entities, as required by section 
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110 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 

(22 U.S.C. 7107). 

Attest: 

Clerk.