nlp-thedeep/humsetbias huggingface dataset:
Impact of the conflict since 2011  The protracted crisis since 2011 has damaged vital education infrastructure, and impacted on the education system's delivery, outreach, coverage, retention and quality, with some areas affected more than others
On September 4, 2018, UN brokered a ceasefire between militias warring in Tripoli. Thus far the ceasefire has held, but remains fragile.  Given prevailing perceptions of insecurity and fear that the situation may deteriorate, the majority of newly internally displaced persons  ( IDPs )  have not yet returned to their homes.  Some 2,350 households remain displaced, mostly to other parts of Tripoli. More than 100 families are staying in schools used as IDP shelters. Several thousand migrants and refugees in detention centres were also affected.
Triggered by clashes between armed groups in Tripoli since 27 August at least 2,045 families  ( approximately 10,225 individuals )  have been displaced to Zliten, Bani Waleed, Misrata, Qasr Akhyar, Tarhouna and safer areas in Tripoli, including 211 families displaced in the last two days. Displaced households originate mostly from conflict affected neighborhoods, including Ain Zara, Abu Slim, Salah Eddin, Ben Aoun and Khallat Al Furjan.
The median cost of the Minimum Expenditure Basket  ( MEB )  decreased by 2.4% in August compared to July, reaching 656.80 LYD, notably due to a 10.2% decrease in the cost of the hygiene portion. According to KIs, preparations for Eid alAdha contributed to price volatility, encouraging merchants to free their stores from some goods to replace them with others more appropriate for the occasion. Additionally, the CBL approved letters of credit for the import of sheep, which allowed for the decrease of lamb meat prices
Due to clashes between armed groups in southern Tripoli since 27 August at least 1,834 households  ( approximately 9,221 individuals )  have been displaced to Bani Waleed, Tarhouna and other areas in Tripoli, including 663 families displaced in the last 24 hours. Displaced households originate mostly from conflict affected neighborhoods in Southern Tripoli, including Ain Zara, Salah Eddin, Qasr Ben Gashir, Ben Aoun and Khallat Al Furjan
Due to heavy clashes in Derna, supply chains for key goods were disrupted. KIs reported that many residents had uncertain access to food2 , and eleven monitored items from the MEB were reported absent from the markets, with only two bakeries continuing to function. Due to these shortages, it was not possible in June to calculate the cost of an MEB in Derna
As of 31 July 2018, the Libyan Coast Guard rescued/intercepted a total of 12,633 people in different locations along the Libyan coast. 2,167 individuals were rescued/intercepted in July, 3,453 in June and 1,756 in May. Since 1 January 2018, Libyan local authorities have recovered 97 bodies of people who perished while attempting to cross the Mediterranean towards Europe.
In the early hours of Monday, 16 July 2018, an abandoned truck, holding ca. 100 migrants and refugees, was identified at the outskirts of Zwara  ( 115km west of Tripoli ) . The individuals, largely from Guinea, Sudan, Syria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Morocco and from Libya, had been locked inside the sealed cargo container  ( used for transporting frozen food ) , together with some canisters of gasoline. When identified by local law enforcement actors, reportedly 11 of the individuals had passed away  ( at least 6 of them children, incl. 2 Libyan children ) , while others, in a critical condition, were brought to hospitals in the area, including in Zwara and Sabratha.
As of 30 June 2018, the Libyan Coast Guard rescued/intercepted a total of 10,466 people in different locations along the Libyan coast. 3,453 individuals were rescued/intercepted in June, 1,756 in May and 1,463 in April. Since 1 January 2018, Libyan local authorities have recovered 73 bodies of people who perished while attempting to cross the Mediterranean towards Europe.
On board were two French pilots, José Benavente and Benoit Micolon, who months earlier pooled their life savings to buy the aircraft now carrying them over the ocean separating Europe from North Africa. Their plan: to save lives by spotting rickety, overcrowded migrant vessels before it's too late.
Demographics and Displacement • The tightening encirclement of Derna accelerated displacement into the core of the city. Most of the displaced came from the outlying mahallas of Hay as Sayyida Khadija, 400, As Sahil, El Fataih, and to a lesser extent Embakh and Sheiha, all of which had experienced shelling and/or clashes in close proximity. • Smaller numbers of IDPs from nearby areas, including Dhahr al Hamr and Wadi an Naqa, had also reportedly taken refuge in Derna's central mahallas  ( El Bilad, Dheil el Wadi, El Jebilah, AlMaghar, Esh Shabiya and Bab Tubraq ) . • At the time of data collection, according to KI estimates, these central mahallas consisted of 20 30% IDPs and 55 70% non displaced persons. The outlying mahallas of 400, As Sahil and Embakh, meanwhile, consisted of 85 95% non displaced persons.
Against a backdrop of critical humanitarian needs faced by asylum seekers and refugees in Libya, UNHCR has up scaled its response in seeking durable solutions for persons of concern  ( POCs )  in third safe countries through its resettlement and humanitarian evacuations programmes. UNHCR has established a Temporary Emergency Evacuation and Transit mechanism  ( ETM )  in Niger. The ETM permits the evacuation of POCs to Niger, from where further resettlement and other legal pathways are being sought, for persons determined to be refugees. UNHCR's resettlement capacity in Libya has also been enhanced.
More than 70 migrants, including three children, were rescued today off the coast of Libya as the Aquarius, chartered by the NGOs SOS Mediterranee and Doctors Without Borders came to their aid.
Since the latest escalation of armed conflict in Derna on 15 May, health sector sources report that at least six civilians have been killed and 14 injured, including one child.  Some 300 to 500 families have reportedly been displaced from Al Fatayih area  ( east of Derna city ) , to Derna city as a result of the renewed conflict.
As of 30 April 2018, the Libyan Coast Guard rescued/intercepted a total of 5,173 people in different locations along the Libyan coast. 1,463 individuals were rescued/intercepted in April, 1,054 in March and 711 in February. Since 1 January 2018, Libyan local authorities have recovered 32 bodies of people who perished while attempting to cross the Mediterranean towards Europe.
Refugees and asylum seekers described squalid centers that were so overcrowded detainees had to lie on one side to sleep and were not allowed to go outside. A small number of toilets were shared by hundreds of people. Detainees were forced to share small amounts of food between several people. They had no change of clothes and often had no clean drinking water. The overcrowding and lack of hygiene resulted in medical conditions such as widespread scabies and lice. In recent visits to DCIM detention centers, the UN Support Mission in Libya  ( UNSMIL )  also found “severe overcrowding and appalling hygiene conditions. Detainees were malnourished and had limited or no access to medical care.'13
As of 18 April, about 800 refugees and migrants, largely intercepted/rescued at sea by the Libyan Coast Guard  ( LCG ) , together with other migrants and refugees taken from captivity of traffickers and smugglers, were held at the DCIM run detention centre in Zwara  ( 115 km west of Tripoli )  in increasingly deteriorating conditions. The refugees and migrants, largely from Cameroon, Bangladesh, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal, Somalia and Sudan, who had been confined in extreme conditions for weeks, were found in urgent need of psychosocial support and suffering from lack of water, ventilation and food.
As Libya's war economy persists, prospects for the restoration of functioning central governance become more distant, concluded a Chatham House report published today.
At least 4500 people have been displaced due to the clashes in the southern Libyan city of Sabha, the Assistant Director of the Health Services Department in the city, Salim Bashir, revealed.
Explosive violence in Libya in 2016 There were 782 deaths and injuries from explosive violence 40%  ( 309 )  were civilians Of civilian deaths and injuries, 36% were caused by ground launched explosives 32% were caused by air launched explosives 32% were caused by IEDs 99% of the civilians killed and injured were in populated areas 57% of civilian deaths and injuries occurred in just one city – Benghazi. Compared to 2015, AOAV has recorded an decrease in civilian deaths and injuries from explosive violence in Libya of 46%
Safety concerns  The majority of respondents indicated that they felt relatively unsafe, unsafe and very unsafe in the site, compared to the situation in their places of displacement. Respondents informed that they are currently being protected by the Bani Walid community  ( which cannot be determined as a sustained protection approach to IDPs in Qarart Al Qataf ) .  Safety concerns are mainly due to fear of attacks form military/armed groups, as well as risks associated to lack of protection from the elements  ( weather conditions  ( heavy raining and storms )  and fire ) .
After six years of conflict, the humanitarian situation in Libya continues to deteriorate, with increasing reports of grave protection and human rights violations. In 2017, an estimated 1.6 million people were directly affected by ongoing conflict in populated areas, including 1.1 million people 378,000 of them children who require life saving humanitarian assistance and protection.
BANI WALEED On 4th of February 600 Tawerghan IDP households were displaced in Qrart Alkataf as they attempted to return to Tawergha. The families were hosted in two schools, a mosque and a small events lounge attached to the mosque. On 14th February a road accident occurred involving 180 migrants resulting in 39 casualties and 19 victims.
IDPs continue to wait in order to return to their community of origin as their number increases. Currently, more than 2,200 individuals are reported to be in Qararat AlKatf and Harawa informal settlements. While a considerable number of families are reported to be in Qararat Al Katf, only 18 families have beeen observed in Harawa.
The World Health Organization  ( WHO )  Country Office in Libya delivered two Mechanical ventilators with all their accessories to the Alaafia Hospital in Houn city, one was delivered in December 2017 and the other one last week.These neonatal ventilators will support the Gynecology and Obstetrics medical services at Alaafia Hospital, which covers underserved areas in the south and centre Libya. WHO expresses its gratitude to the Central Emergency Response Fund  ( CERF )  for funding this initiative, and renewes its commitment to provide humanitarian assistance to the health sector across Libya.
Libya continues to be the main transit point for departure from North Africa towards Europe.UNHCR's interventions at disembarkation points in Libya focus on the provision of life saving assistance and protection monitoring, to identify persons in need of international protection, as well as vulnerable individuals, such as unaccompanied and separated children, elderly, medical cases, women at risk or victims of trafficking. UNHCR through its partner International Medical Corps provides medical services and core relief items. In addition, UNHCR rehabilitated WASH facilities at six disembarkation points, in Azzawya, Tripoli  ( 3 ) , Tajoura  ( Al Hamidiyah )  and Alkhums.
In light of the existing shortage of essential medical supplies in Beninah, the World Health Organization delivered one NCDC kit and five Interagency Emergency Health Kits  ( IEHK )  to the Beninha Hospital, funded by the European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid  ( ECHO ) . The medical kits provide essential medicines and medical devices for the management of hypertension and cardiac conditions, diabetes and endocrine conditions, chronic respiratory diseases, as well as mental health and neurological conditions. They are sufficient to meet the needs of 5000 people for a period of three months. “WHO and its partners are exerting all efforts to prevent the collapse of the Libyan health system, but thousands of people remain in dire need of critical health services,' said Dr Jaffar Hussain, WHO Representative to Libya.
The conflict had a devastating impact on civilians, cutting or severely curtailing their access to food, health care, education, electricity, fuel and water supplies, and causing many to be displaced from their homes. Economic collapse left many struggling to support their families.
The World Health Organization reported in April that Libya's health care system had virtually collapsed and in June estimated that almost 60% of public hospitals in areas of conflict had shut down or become inaccessible.
Since 2014, the intensification of the conflict in Libya has affected millions of people, both displaced and nondisplaced. Libya's complex political and community landscape created further division and security concerns as conflict erupted in different regions of the country, leading to several waves of displacement. The latest figures identified 1.15 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, out of which 170,000 were internally displaced persons  ( IDPs ) , 200,000 returnees and 370,000 non displaced persons
As of early November, about 114,600 migrants arrived in Italy through the Central Mediterranean route, compared to 164,800 in the same period last year. However, the number of migrant arrivals to Libya has not decreased. A lack of or false information about the migrant situation in Libya in sub Saharan African countries contributes to a continuing flow of migrants and refugees to Libya.
On 10 February, a flight departed from Tripoli evacuating 130 refugees to Niamey, Niger. A second flight departed on 13 February with 128 refugees onboard. With the cooperation of UNHCR's partners and thanks to the support of the government of Niger, the evacuated people are being accommodated in UNHCR's Emergency Transit Mechanism  ( ETM )  in Niamey, where assistance and psychosocial support are available while applications for resettlement or other durable solutions are pending.
UNHCR continues to support the internally displaced Tawerghan community stranded in Qararat al Qataf  ( east of Bani Walid )  and in Harawa  ( east of Sirte )  in conjunction with its partner LibAid. Despite an initial agreement by the parties involved, internally displaced persons  ( IDPs )  from Tawergha are still being prevented from returning to their hometown  ( 40 km southeast of Misrata ) . In Qararat al Qataf, UNHCR is actively distributing nonfood items such as blankets, winter clothing, hygiene kits, sleeping mats, solar lamps and tents. In addition, UNHCR led a rapid inter agency needs assessment exercise in coordination with UN agencies, authorities, and local partners. The most urgent needs identified were shelter, food, primary healthcare, specific support for children and babies, and basic household items, to ensure shelter from the cold temperatures.
In 2017, the 3,138 Pakistani migrants arriving by sea to Italy from Libya were 13th in the overall list of migrant arrivals  ( 119,369 ) . This year though, they already are the third highest nationality so far, with an estimated 240 reaching Italy in January. In comparison, only nine Pakistanis arrived in Italy by sea in January 2017
UNHCR is saddened about the tragic truck accident and rushes help to survivorsUNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in Libya deplores the tragic truck accident near Bani Waleed, which left 19 refugees dead and 49 others injured on Wednesday, 14 February.
“IOM provided food and water to the group when they were back on land and treated those in need of emergency medical assistance,' Headon added. “IOM will follow up on each individual case to see what further assistance and protection can be provided.
IOM Libya's Olivia Headon reported that 252 migrants were returned to Libyan shores on Wednesday  ( 31 January ) . Some 226 men, 19 women – four of them pregnant – and 7 children had been aboard two rubber dinghies headed for Europe, she explained
Headon also reported that a separate group, this one consisting of 23 migrants, was being returned to Libya on Thursday  ( 01/02 )  afternoon. One child was in the group, as well as two pregnant women, one of whom is likely to give birth in the coming days, said Headon.
The 246 deaths this month – the second deadliest on the Mediterranean since June 2017 – points to the randomness of danger along this busy migration corridor. The previous month  ( December 2017 ) , when 23 deaths were recorded, was the least lethal of any recorded by IOM since January 2014, while the normally busy months of July, August, September and October last year all recorded fatalities below 200 each.
At least 90 migrants are reported to have drowned, when a boat capsized off the coast of Libya this morning  ( 02/02 ) . According to IOM Libya's Olivia Headon, 10 bodies are reported to have washed up on Libyan shores – two Libyans and eight Pakistani nationals. Two survivors are reported to have swam to shore, while another was rescued by a fishing boat, Headon said. IOM is working to get more details of the tragedy and to see how best to assist survivors, she continued.
Hundreds of civilians remained trapped without access to clean water, food, power or medical care in Benghazi's Ganfouda area due to fighting.
The security situation in Libya deteriorated in 2017, particularly in Sabratha, Benghazi, Sirte, and central and southern Libya, resulting in displacement, market disruptions, and limitations on health access.
Around 20,000 migrants were being held in official and unofficial detention centres in 2017 in Sabratha alone, with no or limited access to food, healthcare, or legal protection
In Derna the siege of the Libyan National Army  ( LNA ) , led by Khalifa Haftar, was tightened and movement restrictions remain in force. The security situation is likely to deteriorate in 2018: IS is regrouping in southern Libya, Sirte region, Al Jufra, and Misrata; the LNA is gaining more control over territories and resources; and the implementation of EU migration policies led to the closure of the Mediterranean route, leaving migrants in the hands of the Libyan Coast Guard  ( LCG )  and armed militias. Migrants are likely to continue to be subjected to illegal detentions and human rights abuses. Conflict, access constraints, and the disrupted procurement system will likely increase protection, health, and livelihood needs in 2018.
However, clashes continued among different parties throughout 2017, including the LNA, Misratan militias, GNA led forces, and IS forces. The protraction of violence all over the country undermined the limited progress made by the UN peace process and opened a window of opportunity for IS to regroup. Insecurity, the lack of a state authority, and the fragmented political dynamics had a considerable impact on the country's humanitarian situation, with access still limited.
Humanitarian access restrictions are still being used as war tactics, with the people in need of health assistance the most affected by these constraints
Protection issues such as illegal detention, torture, mass executions, gender based violence, human trafficking, and slavery are likely to increase in 2018 based on the deterioration of the security situation and the possible regrouping of IS. Migrants and asylum seekers are likely to continue to be at particular risk as they are exposed to violence by Libyan security forces, militias, and smuggling networks. Mines and ERWs are still present, mostly in Benghazi, and are likely to remain a security issue.
Protracted conflict and disrupted procurement and distribution systems in Libya are having a negative impact on livelihoods. The situation is likely to further deteriorate due to the lack of liquidity, high food and NFI prices, and the depreciation of the Libyan dinar on the black market. Restrictions on movement affect livelihoods in besieged Derna, where over 100,000 people live. In 2018, a larger number of people are likely to adopt negative coping systems, such as migrant and goods smuggling, due to the limited financial resources.
Access to healthcare is likely to remain a situation of major concern in Libya for 2018, especially in conflict affected areas. Lack of human resources and shortages of medical supplies continue to be a problem. The situation is likely to deteriorate due to the lack of fuel to run hospitals in Derna and southern Libya. Migrants in legal and illegal detention centres do not have access to health assistance despite their vulnerability to WASH related diseases. As the number of detained migrants is likely to increase in 2018, health access for migrants is likely to further deteriorate.
On February 14 at 3:00 AM, a large truck used by smugglers to transport migrants from the As Saddadah  ( 60 km south east of Bani Waleed )  to Tarhuna, was involved in a car accident causing the death of 19 migrants and injuring 49 more migrants. Out of the 180 migrants involved, 138 were Eritreans while the remaining were Somalis and Ethiopians.
Out of the 19 reported victims, 4 were children, 1 was an adult woman and 14 adult men. The wounded are reportedly: 10 children, 9 adult women and 30 men.
In the last 12 months, ongoing conflict has directly affected an estimated 1.62 million people across Libya. The affected population have continued to face critical protection challenges, including risk of death and injury due to indiscriminate use of weapons, freedom of movement restrictions and conflictrelated psychological trauma. Violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, including violations of children and women's rights, are widespread, including but not limited to various forms of sexual and gender based violence  ( SGBV ) , unlawful killings, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances and torture and other ill treatment.
Recent developments have provided some momentum to a stalled political process, but with no clear solutions as the country remains divided between rival administrations, leaving national and local institutions largely unable to provide protection and basic services. The economic situation continues to deteriorate, further eroding both the authorities' ability to provide services and as well as the livelihoods of communities and families. Living conditions are worsening as cash, food, fuel, water, electricity, health care and public services and supplies become increasingly scarce. Weak rule of law is leaving vulnerable civilians and marginalized groups unprotected. Armed groups, including those affiliated to the State, continue to unlawfully detain thousands of Libyans and foreign nationals in substandard conditions, where they are vulnerable to torture and other abuses.
Attacks on health care facilities and medical personnel continued across the country, including in Azzawya, Benghazi, Tripoli, Sebha and Derna, affecting the wellbeing of patients, the provision of health services and the livelihoods particularly of women, who constitute 56 per cent of employees at hospitals across the three Libyan regions.2 The Service Availability and Readiness Assessment  ( SARA ) 3 carried out by WHO and the Ministry of Health for all public health facilities, found that 17.5 per cent of hospitals, 20 per cent of primary health care facilities and eight per cent of other health facilities were not operational due to damage, lack of maintenance, inaccessibility and occupation by people and entities. The availability of some essential health services is particularly limited.
Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers who are stuck in Libya often suffer abuses, torture and other ill treatment in detention. Often they cannot access services and people detained in these centres suffer from poor hygiene standards, diseases, lack of food and safe drinking water. Trafficking and smuggling rings operate freely and ‘slave market' conditions have been reported in Tripoli and Sebha. Alarming cases of rape and physical abuse of female and male migrants, including in the official and unofficial detention centres, have been well documented. Almost 40 per cent of refugees and migrants interviewed in 2017 reported rape and sexual abuse, although unreported figures are likely to be far higher. Some women report being advised by traffickers to use a contraceptive injection before transiting through Libya, indicating how widespread and entrenched this violence is. Beyond the immediate risks the migrants face, the revenue smuggler networks are generating from irregular migration is developing into a direct threat to stability in parts of Libya.
Armed groups, including some operating under Libya's rival governments, abducted and detained civilians on account of their origin, opinions and perceived political or tribal affiliations. Rising criminality in the absence of a functioning justice system also saw armed groups and gangs abducting civilians for ransom in Tripoli and other cities.
Rival government forces and other armed groups and militias committed serious violations of international law and abuses of human rights with impunity. All sides to the conflict carried out indiscriminate attacks and direct attacks on civilians, forcing thousands to become internally displaced and causing a humanitarian crisis.
Thousands of people continued to be detained without trial in the absence of a functioning justice system, and torture and other ill treatment were rife. Armed groups including Islamic State  ( IS )  abducted, detained and killed civilians and severely curtailed the rights to freedom of expression and assembly. Women faced discrimination and were subjected to sexual and other violence, particularly by IS. Refugees, asylum seekers and migrants faced serious abuses, including indefinite detention and torture and other ill treatment by the authorities, armed groups and people smugglers.
Libya remained deeply divided as rival governments continued to vie for political legitimacy and assert control against a background of economic collapse and widespread lawlessness in which armed groups and militias abducted people for ransom and committed unlawful killings with impunity.
The HOR affiliated Libyan National Army  ( LNA ) , an armed group composed of former army units and tribal militias, commanded by retired army General Khalifa Haftar, consolidated its power and made significant territorial gains in the east. The LNA replaced some elected municipal council heads with military appointed governors in areas they controlled, while their forces captured vital oil terminals from a GNA allied armed group in September. The LNA continued to participate in fighting against the Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries  ( SCBR )  armed group in Benghazi, and conducted air strikes in Derna.
In Benghazi, the LNA shelled and launched air strikes in the suburb of Ganfouda and other civilian areas under SCBR control and the SCBR shelled other densely populated civilian areas. A LNA air strike on 1 July killed two civilians in Ganfouda. On 4 October, indiscriminate shelling apparently by SCBR forces killed three civilians in Sidi Hussein, central Benghazi.
Some attacks by armed groups and militias in Benghazi targeted hospitals and other civilian buildings. They included a car bomb attack on 24 June at al Jalaa hospital that killed five and wounded 13, mostly civilians.
IS controlled parts of the coastal city of Sirte and contested other areas. In February, a US air strike on an alleged IS training camp in the western city of Sabratha reportedly killed up to 50 people, including two Serbian nationals held hostage by IS. In May, GNA forces composed mostly of armed groups from Misrata began an offensive against IS positions in Sirte, supported by US air strikes in August, and gained control of the city in early December.
Fighting between rival armed groups in Tripoli, al Zawiya and other cities in western Libya, as well as tribal fighting in southern Libya, also caused deaths and injuries among civilians. On 16 October, indiscriminate shelling between GNA forces and pro NSG armed groups hit a camp for internally displaced people in Tripoli, killing one civilian and injuring others.
Those abducted included political, human rights and other activists, journalists, and judicial and other public officials. Some foreign nationals were targeted based on their religion, race or nationality. Some were released after payment of ransoms or local mediation.
Armed groups, including some affiliated to the rival governments, committed unlawful killings of captured opposition fighters and civilians they perceived as opponents.
In June, 12 men detained in connection with alleged offences during Mu'ammar al Gaddafi's rule were reportedly shot dead shortly after their release from Tripoli's al Baraka Prison, run by the Ministry of Justice. They appeared to be victims of extrajudicial execution.
By August the number of internally displaced people in Libya had risen to almost 350,000, according to the International Organization for Migration  ( IOM ) . This included an estimated 40,000 former residents of Tawargha who had been forced from their homes five years earlier. In August, a reconciliation agreement between Misrata and Tawargha representatives aimed to facilitate their return to the town.
Most of Sirte's civilian inhabitants fled the city at the time of the GNA offensive against IS in May. The fighting caused extensive damage but some residents were able to return. Conflict in Benghazi and tribal fighting in southern Libya also caused population displacement.
The justice system remained in a state of collapse, with courts unable to process thousands of untried detainees' cases, some dating from 2011. Thousands of detainees continued to be held without trial in official prisons and detention facilities and in unofficial prisons run by armed groups. Some detainees were freed in amnesties, including 17 men held in Misrata who were released in March.
The IOM said in October that it had identified 276,957 migrants in Libya but estimated the true number to be between 700,000 and 1 million. UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, had registered 38,241 refugees by the end of the year.
Libyan law continued to criminalize foreign nationals who irregularly enter, leave or remain in the country. Many actual and suspected irregular migrants and asylum seekers were seized at checkpoints and in house raids or reported to the authorities by their employers. Thousands were held in indefinite detention pending deportation in facilities of the Department for Combating Irregular Migration  ( DCIM ) . Although they formally reported to the Ministry of the Interior, DCIM detention facilities were often run by armed groups outside the effective control of the GNA. Those detained were held in squalid conditions and were subject to torture and other ill treatment by guards, including beatings, shootings, exploitation and sexual violence. UNHCR reported that there were 24 migrant detention centres across Libya.
Thousands of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants sought to flee Libya and cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe in unseaworthy craft provided by people smugglers. The UN estimated that 5,022 people had died while trying to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa by the end of the year, mostly departing from Libya.
Refugees, asylum seekers and migrants were subjected to serious human rights abuses by criminal gangs, including abduction, extortion, sexual violence and killing. IS also abducted refugees and migrants, forcing some to convert to Islam, and sexually abused migrant and refugee women reportedly subjecting some to forced marriage. In October the IOM reported that 71% of migrants who took the central Mediterranean route from Africa to Europe said they had experienced practices amounting to human trafficking, with 49% having faced abduction and extortion in Libya.
Women continued to face discrimination in law and practice and were marginalized socially, politically and economically.
In Sirte and other areas that they controlled, IS and other armed groups imposed strict interpretations of Shari'a law that restricted women's movement and dress, and reportedly sanctioned the practice of child marriage. Armed groups also threatened and harassed women who engaged in public activism
1.33 million # of people in need of humanitarian assistance. 439,000 # of children in need of humanitarian assistance. 500,000 people, including 200,000 children, in need of safe water, sanitation and hygiene. 315,000 children in need of education in emergency support.
IOM's latest Displacement Tracking Matrix identified in February 2017 a total of 294,436 Internally Displaced Persons  ( IDPs ) , 196,852 returnees, and 256,690 migrants by the end of 2016. UNHCR reported a total number of registered refugees and asylum seekers of 40,259 by the end of March 2017, while the total number of refugees in Libya was estimated at 100,000. In January 2017 alone and despite winter conditions at sea, 4,463 people left Libya to Italy, 40 children reportedly died.
In 2017, an estimated 1.3 million people including 439,000 children were in need of urgent humanitarian assistance in Libya due to the continued conflict, insecurity, and the collapsing economy. The periodic escalations of armed conflict that took place in 2017 further aggravated the humanitarian needs especially for the most vulnerable people including children. In addition, towards the end of 2017, an estimated 400,000 migrants and refugees were estimated to be in Libya including over 33,000 children exposed to huge protection risks and human rights violations.
UNICEF LCO and partners provided 97,390 people 32,138 of whom are estimated children  ( including 18,350 migrants and refugees )  with access to safe water through water trucking, rehabilitation of water networks and the installation of water pumps in different locations in Sabha, Ubari, Sabratha, Tajura, Benghazi, and Gharyan. In addition, 100,450 people benefited from improved sanitation facilities, rehabilitation of toilets, drainage networks, and fumigation campaigns in Sabratha, Gharyan, Tajura, Benghazi, Sabha, Ubari and Tripoli. 16,390 children were provided with improved water and sanitation facilities in schools in Sabha, Ubari, Tripoli and Sirte. Additionally, a total of 44,390 people were reached with basic hygiene items and WASH related information in Benghazi, Sabha, Tripoli, Sirte and Ubari.
In 2017 and in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization  ( WHO ) , over 1,53 million children aged 0 6 years were vaccinated against polio including migrants and Internally Displaced children reaching universal coverage while 721,488 children aged 3 6 years received Measles, Mumps and Rubella  ( MMR )  vaccines.
Perhaps the worst off are two groups: migrants seeking work or a boat to Europe  ( they often find themselves trafficked, abused, or in detention centres with horrific conditions ) , and the approximately 200,000 internally displaced who have had to flee their homes inside Libya; some because their tribes or groups have been evicted from fighting zones, others because their homes are in ruins after more than three years of civil war.
A report issued by United International Children's Emergency Fund  ( Unicef )  on Tuesday reveals that migrants in Libya, mainly women and children, have been victims of abuse, including beatings, rapes and starvation, while living in "hellholes". Unicef says almost 26,000 children, most of them unaccompanied, crossed the Mediterranean last year.
Khan adds that Unicef does not have access to many of these detention centres. "The current facilities are insufficient. Both in terms of the way children are being held, as in detention behind bars, which should never happen, and in terms of inadequate health and sanitation services," Khan says.
The north African nation is a major exit point for refugees from Africa trying to take boats to Europe. But since the overthrow of autocratic leader Muammar Gaddafi, the vast, sparsely populated country has slid into violent chaos and migrants with little cash and usually no papers are particularly vulnerable.
Trafficked people passing through Libya have previously reported violence, extortion and slave labour. But the new testimony from the International Organization for Migration suggests that the trade in human beings has become so normalised that people are being traded in public.
Such is the chaos of the last few days in Tripoli that there are no accurate figures for the dead and wounded from city hospitals, one of which, Habda, was twice hit by shellfire and set on fire on Tuesday and evacuated.
Without oil, the country could fall into an even deeper economic crisis. It's already suffering from a crippling cash shortage. Along with rival governments, Libya has two rival central banks: one in Tripoli uses dinar currency printed in Britain; one in the east uses similar but not identical dinar notes printed in Russia. With billions of dinars worth of banknotes arriving, the country should be awash with money. But instead the banks have been restricting supply in a mostly unsuccessful bid to control runaway inflation.
Many of the estimated 275,000 migrants in Libya fall victim to human smuggling. Some are trapped in notorious detention centres, while the unluckiest of all meet their death at sea. Another 313,000 Libyans are internally displaced, in desperate need, with aid agencies helping where they can.
As a galaxy of militias battle for control of central Tripoli, residents cower from tank and artillery fire. For the city's population of 1.5 million, the clashes come after two years of growing violence and deprivation as basic services fall apart.
In July, the World Health Organization reported that only four of 80 hospitals in the country are working even at 75 percent capacity, and a further 17 had closed, along with one in five primary healthcare facilities. It blamed “fragmented governance, limited financial resources, deficient human resources, acute shortage of lifesaving medicines and basic equipment, a debilitated primary healthcare network, and neglected health services.'
In eastern Libya, police and army affiliated with a parliament based in Tobruk have begun to take control, but in Tripoli and much of the west of the country the militias still rule supreme. As the economy sinks, they indulge in criminality, be it fuel smuggling, people smuggling or kidnapping. Abductions are common in Tripoli, with militias grabbing individuals off the street to “sell' them back to their families.The UN Panel of Experts on Libya said in a June 2017 report that it had received “numerous reports of kidnappings and arbitrary detentions used by armed groups for political or material benefit. Politicians, activists, bank employees and journalists are frequent targets.'
Several groups drilled through pavements to get to groundwater, using generators to pump it up and bottle it on the spot. UNICEF warned on 3 December that locals were resorting to “potentially unsafe or contaminated water, increasing the risk of an outbreak of waterborne diseases.'
In the wake of a battle between militias for control of Sabratha that began the month before, nearly 20,000 people escaped or were freed from smuggling warehouses in and around the port city. Most were sub Saharan Africans who had come to Libya with the goal of crossing the sea to Europe but found themselves stuck in abysmal conditions – facing torture, exploitation, and abuse.
In mid September, the militias rumored to be working with Italy came under attack from rival armed groups and were driven from the city. Dozens of people were killed in the clashes, and hundreds were wounded. Italy's policies, and the desire for the legitimacy and money that comes from being in the position to stop clandestine migration, appeared to be the catalyst behind the fighting.
In the wake of the conflict, the UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, described a situation of “human suffering and abuse on a shocking scale' among the more than 20,000 migrants and asylum seekers who had been warehoused in the city when the route to Italy snapped shut. Hundreds of people were found without clothing; there were pregnant women and newborn babies; and people had clearly been physically abused and psychologically traumatised.
there are more than 43,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers in the country, but the real count may be closer to several hundred thousand. And human rights violations occur in smuggling warehouses and official detention centres alike.
As EU and Italian policies restrict the possibility of people leaving Libya by sea, and not just at Sabratha, no one really knows how many tens of thousands are in the country's detention centres, official or otherwise.
Libya continues to suffer from the impact of a protracted political crisis, which leads to outbreaks of violence, displacement and a general worsening of people's living conditions. Availability and affordability of food, fuel, water and sanitation, electricity and medical supplies have decreased and the provision of health care and public services continues to decline, thus exacerbating the humanitarian situation over the past year. This is further compounded by the desperate situation of many migrants and people in need of international protection such as refugees and asylum seekers. In addition, there are serious protection concerns, linked to the existing conflict and insecurity, including the presence of unexploded ordnance and mines and gender based violence.
The total population in need of humanitarian assistance in Libya in 2018 is estimated at approximately 1.1 million people. This figure includes the total estimated population of vulnerable groups: IDPs, returnees, non displaced and migrants/refugees/asylum seekers.
Those who are not held captive are nonetheless constantly at risk of being unlawfully killed, tortured, illtreated or exploited, and are exposed to the generalized lawlessness and violence generated by the armed conflicts raging in different parts of the country.
To give migrants a chance to escape the abuse, IOM offers voluntary repatriations: It sent 2,775 people home from Libya last year and is aiming for 10,000 in 2017.
Refugee and migrant respondents by region of origin: 38% 15 Middle East and North Africa 38% 15 West Africa 25% 10 East Africa Refugee and migrant respondents by gender: 92% 37 Male 8% 3 Female
Amnesty International is concerned that there is a considerable risk that whatever assistance Italy is providing to Libyan authorities could be contributing to human rights violations and abuses, particularly because of the lack of a protection framework in the country. Moreover, assistance to non state actors renders the pursuit of accountability for those abuses almost impossible, while increasing the risk of destabilizing the country. These concerns are aggravated by the lack of transparency of deals the Italian government has made, particularly with non state actors who may have been involved in human rights abuses. In September 2017, shortly after the Sabratha meeting, clashes among militias spread in Sabratha, leaving scores of civilians dead and displacing hundreds of families.216 The Anas Debashi and Brigade 48 militias lost control of Sabratha to other militias. Once the clashes were over, about 14,000 refugees and migrants found themselves stranded in the town.217 While international agencies worked to provide them immediate assistance, they were subsequently transferred to DCIM detention centres.
As a result of these and other incidents, several of the NGOs operating in the central Mediterranean, including Médecins Sans Frontières, Save the Children, Sea Eye and Migrant Offshore Aid Station  ( MOAS )  suspended their ships' operations, out of concern for the safety of their crews and fearing that they might ultimately be forced to hand people they have rescued over to the LCG, which would return them to Libya. Save the Children and Sea Eye subsequently resumed operations, and NGO SOS Méditerranée continued to operate throughout, but they had to limit their operational areas to avoid exposing themselves to confrontations with the LCG, as happened with the newly established NGO Mission Lifeline.
However, among those stranded in Libya are tens of thousands of people in need of international protection for whom return is not an option. They cannot apply for asylum because Libya is not party to the 1951 Refugee Convention, does not recognize UNHCR and has no national asylum system. In the absence of serious commitments by European governments to offer them international protection and resettlement, they risk remaining stuck in Libya indefinitely and remain vulnerable to the grave human rights violations at the hands of the state and abuses at the hands of a range of non state actors that are described in this report.
The journey from the south of Libya, through the desert, to the north is marked by its own challenges. Refugees and migrants remain at the mercy of smugglers and traffickers: they are often left with little food or water, held in captivity in cities in the south, extorted for money, and at times trafficked for periods before being released to continue their route to the north. Some have reported being sexually abused in the desert. The grim reality for most refugees and migrants is that, once they manage to make their way up to the north of Libya, they feel their only way out of Libya is by sea towards Europe, since neighbouring African countries shut their borders to non Libyan nationals who do not have valid visas and travel documents to enter.
The justice system in Libya is weak and has been further constrained by the security situation in the country, in which state authorities have very little effective control. Courts have been unable to process thousands of untried cases of detainees, some dating from 2011. Judges and lawyers have been threatened and harassed, leading many to flee the country and leaving a void in the state prosecutorial and judicial systems. The judiciary is largely not functioning in most of the country, Tripoli and Misratah being partial exceptions.
The conditions of detention in most facilities are characterized by chronic severe overcrowding, poor hygiene, and a lack of access to basic necessities or adequate medical care. Undernutrition in adults and children is rampant, particularly in facilities outside Tripoli. In some facilities, the conditions of detention in themselves may amount to torture or other ill  treatment. Detainees are commonly denied the opportunity to communicate with their relatives and severe delays in visits by consular representatives have been reported.
Refugees and migrants detained in DCIM centres described horrific accounts of abuse. Some were deprived of food or prevented from calling their families until they paid a ransom. Others were permitted to call their families but then tortured while on the phone. Some described undignified treatment where they were stripsearched for any hidden amounts of money to be confiscated. Once detained, the refugee or migrant had their money, phones, passports and identification papers removed. Upon release, they were therefore in an even more vulnerable situation.
LCG officials conducting interception operations have used threats and violence against refugees and migrants on board boats in distress – the very people they are supposed to rescue – sometimes in order to rob them of their few possessions. For example, on 23 May 2017, rescue ship Aquarius, jointly operated by NGOs Médecins Sans Frontières and SOS Méditerranée, engaged in the rescue of 1,004 people at sea. During the operation, refugees and migrants on a boat were approached by the LCG, demanding phones and money from them, while firing shots in the air. This caused panic, and over 60 individuals fell into the water. This incident placed the lives of those being rescued in the high seas at risk. Despite this, the entire group were eventually rescued by the Aquarius crew.
Libya's sweeping detention policy facilitates not only the arbitrary and indefinite detention of mainly subSaharan African nationals, but also an environment of impunity for torture and other ill treatment, exploitation and other abuse.