After reports surfaced in the latter half of 2017 on auctions of people held in camps in Libya and of extremely unfit conditions in the camps, the UNHCR has acted to evacuate those who are highly vulnerable. The camps had filled up as a result of the EU providing assistance to Libya to prevent or return migrants trying to cross the central Mediterranean into Italy. While the number of people in government camps is estimated at about 40,000, the numbers within Libya but outside of government control are estimated to be ten times more.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights had spoken in September 2017 about the brutal conditions in the detention camps, where those who were detained while trying to make the crossing were being held. Other than the detention camps, large numbers of people are reported as being held by gangs and militias for ransom. Following the reports of abuses, the UN has sought closure of the camps with return of most refugees/migrants back to their respective countries. Also in parallel, the UN has conducted the first evacuation of vulnerable refugees with 162 people being flown from Tripoli to Rome in December 2017. France has also taken in people rescued from Libya and sent to Niger, with about 25 people being flown to Paris from Niger, and more flights from Niger planned for January 2018.

While the Libyan government has initiated an investigation into the conditions and illegal activities in the camps, the Italian government has said it will take in 10,000 people from the camps in 2018. About 30,000 people are proposed to be sent back to their native countries in 2018 by the International Organization for Migration.

Libyan migrant camps are also known as detention camps where brutal actions are performed to men, women and children. Every day people set off in flimsy boats to flee to Italy but they are sent back and compelled to live like animals.

These migrants are usually from Sudan and Ethiopia, who work temporarily in Libya or want to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Italy. But Libyan government had been paid by Italy to hold these migrants. They are not only hold but are brutally tortured.

These migrants are being sold at the camps through auctions. They are forced to do unpaid labor and are also sexually assaulted. The women are raped frequently but they are always reluctant to talk about it. To escape this horrible situation these migrants, pay thousands of dollars to smugglers to let them cross the sea. They do this at the risk of their life. This unsure voyage is always treacherous for them. Women are sure before the voyage that they are going to be raped by human smugglers.