Nearly half a million migrants have made the crossing from Libya across the Mediterranean in the last three years; over 10,000 have died in the attempt. A further half a million, maybe more, are currently stranded in Libya.

Over the past decade, tens of thousands of these migrants have been exposed to arbitrary detention, torture and other ill-treatment, including sexual violence, extortion, human trafficking, slavery and forced labour in the Department for Combatting Illegal Migration (DCIM) detention centres.

This seminar will present Dr Natalia Ribas Mateos' recent research concerning the plight of migrants trapped in Libya and the proliferation of actors dealing with this topic, based on interviews carried out between October and December 2018 in Tunisia and in Sicily (Italy) as well as a review of available evidence from UN and EU bodies, the Italian government, international and local NGOs, as well as other online sources.

At the heart of this seminar Dr Ribas Mateos will consider, given the complexity of the situation, what recommendations could be suggested to the various actors.

Speaker profiles

Dr Natalia Ribas Mateos is a TRANSMENA researcher and fellow in the Department of Sociology, University Autonoma Barcelona