UNHCR Voices Concern over Deteriorating Migrant Condition in Libya

Migrants arrive at a naval base after they were rescued by Libyan coast guards in Tripoli, Libya, December 16, 2017. (Reuters)
Migrants arrive at a naval base after they were rescued by Libyan coast guards in Tripoli, Libya, December 16, 2017. (Reuters)
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UNHCR Voices Concern over Deteriorating Migrant Condition in Libya

Migrants arrive at a naval base after they were rescued by Libyan coast guards in Tripoli, Libya, December 16, 2017. (Reuters)
Migrants arrive at a naval base after they were rescued by Libyan coast guards in Tripoli, Libya, December 16, 2017. (Reuters)

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said 72 illegal immigrants have been rescued by the Libyan coast guard off the country's western coast. It voiced concern over the deteriorating condition of thousands of illegal migrants in Libya.

The UNHCR revealed that, in addition to people held in trafficking camps, more than 2,000 refugees and migrants are being detained in official detention centers without judicial review.

UNHCR expressed its deepest condolences over the tragic death of a young Eritrean asylum-seeker in Tripoli this week and called for renewed action against smugglers and traffickers who continue to inflict unimaginable suffering to refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in Libya.

“The man had arrived on 20 July at UNHCR’s Community Day Center in Tripoli seeking medical assistance, along with another Eritrean male. Both appeared to be severely malnourished. One was identified as needing urgent medical care and an ambulance was called. Regrettably, the individual passed away before it was possible to transport him to the hospital,” UNHCR said.

“Both men had previously been held by traffickers at Bani Walid, a town in northwestern Libya. It has been well-documented over recent years that criminal smuggling and trafficking groups operate in Libya, causing immense suffering and misery.

Since June, more than one hundred individuals have arrived in Tripoli from trafficking centers in Bani Walid. They are often in very poor physical condition and in dire need of assistance. UNHCR, sister agencies, and partners have provided medical care and support for basic needs to these victims. However, many are traumatized and require specialized medical care and psychosocial support that, in the current context, is difficult to provide in Libya,” it added.

A Libyan rights activist told Asharq Al-Awsat that flagrant violations, such as shortages of food and medicine and excessive use of force that sometimes lead to death, are reported at several detention centers.



One in 10 Children Screened in UNRWA Clinics are Malnourished

Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 14, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 14, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
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One in 10 Children Screened in UNRWA Clinics are Malnourished

Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 14, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 14, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

One in 10 children screened in clinics run by the United Nations refugee agency in Gaza since 2024 has been malnourished, the agency said on Tuesday.

"Our health teams are confirming that malnutrition rates are increasing in Gaza, especially since the siege was tightened more than four months ago on the second of March," UNRWA's Director of Communications, Juliette Touma, told reporters in Geneva via a video link from Amman, Jordan.

Since January 2024, UNRWA said it had screened more than 240,000 boys and girls under the age of five in its clinics, adding that before the war, acute malnutrition was rarely seen in the Gaza Strip.

"One nurse that we spoke to told us that in the past, he only saw these cases of malnutrition in textbooks and documentaries," Reuters quoted Touma as saying.

"Medicine, nutrition supplies, hygiene material, fuel are all rapidly running out," Touma said.

On May 19, Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza, allowing limited UN deliveries to resume. However, UNRWA continues to be banned from bringing aid into the enclave.

Israel and the United States have accused Palestinian militant group Hamas of stealing from UN-led aid operations - which Hamas denies. They have instead set up the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, using private US security and logistics firms to transport aid to distribution hubs, which the UN has refused to work with.

On Monday, UNICEF said that last month more than 5,800 children were diagnosed with malnutrition in Gaza, including more than 1,000 children with severe, acute malnutrition. It said it was an increase for the fourth month in a row.