COVID-19 IMPACTS ON IMMIGRATION DETENTION: GLOBAL RESPONSES COVID-19 IN LIBYA MAY INCREASE THE RISK OF DETENTION FOR MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES BACKGROUND: MIGRATION DETENTION IN LIBYA Long a destination country for migrant workers, Libya has also become a key transit country for those attempting to reach Europe via the Central Mediterranean Route. Since the early 2000s, Gaddafi’s government started a more active co-operation at tackling illegal migration across the Mediterranean. Under current Libyan law, irregular stay, entry, and departure have been criminalized and sanctioned with fines and imprisonment1. In practice, migrants and refugees are subject to arbitrary and indefinite detention upon disembarkation by the Libyan Directorate for Combating Illegal Migration (DCIM)2. In 2017 the European Union (EU) endorsed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Italy and Libya aimed at stemming irregular flows3. Italy committed to provide material support to the Libyan border police and assist in establishing so-called “temporary camps” under the management of the DCIM. In 2012, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) had ruled that Italy’s practice of returning intercepted migrants to Libya was illegal4. Hence, the new MoU aims at strengthening the capacity of Libyan authorities to directly intercept irregular migrants5. COVID-19 RESPONSE IN LIBYA As many other countries, Libya declared a state of emergency in response to the spread of COVID-19, which was followed by measures aimed at restricting movements9: ≥ 15 March – Closure of schools and “non-essential” businesses. ≥ 16 March – Closure of border crossing points via land and sea. ≥ 22 March – First curfew (6 PM to 6 AM) imposed. ≥ 24 March – First official COVID-19 case announced in Tripoli. ≥ 27 June – Complete lockdown in the South. ≥ 26 July – Misrata airport reopened for commercial flights from/to Istanbul. ≥ 3 August- Misrata airport temporarily closed; flights moved to Tripoli Mitiga airport. ≥ 31 August- High schools gradually reopen (primary and middle schools remain closed). According to human rights groups, an increase in sea interceptions by the Libyan Coast Guard (LCG) soon followed, contributing to a surge in detentions and overcrowding at DCIM facilities6. Refugees and migrants apprehended at sea are often automatically transferred to detention centres. Furthermore, there are additional informal centres controlled by local armed groups, where detainees are particularly vulnerable to being held for ransom or sold for forced labour7. Existing reports have documented human rights violations and abuses within the country’s detention centres. In-depth interviews with refugees and migrants between 2016 and 2019 describe conditions of massive overcrowding, dire sanitary conditions as well as inadequate food and medical care8. Widespread abuses inflicted by guards and militia members are also documented. Source: WHO (2020). On 17 March 2020 UNHCR halted third-country resettlement departures; evacuation flights were also suspended until August 202010. Given the closure of international borders, IOM also interrupted the voluntary humanitarian return programme for five months, resuming on 20 August 2020 11. 1 Relevant provisions are contained in Law No. 6 (1987) Regulating Entry, Residence and Exit of Foreign Nationals to/from Libya, as amended by Law No. 2 (2004); and Law No. 19 (2010) on Combating Irregular Migration. 2 Amnesty International (2017). Libya’s dark web of collusion: Abuses against Europe-bound refugees and migrants. 3 Uselli, S. (2017) Italy-Libya agreement: the Memorandum text. Associazione per gli studi giuridici sull’immigrazione (ASGI). 4 European Court of Human Rights (2012). Grand Chamber Judgment Hirsi Jamaa and Others v. Italy. 5 Heller C. and Pezzani L. (2018) Mare Clausum. Italy and the EU’s undeclared operation to stem migration across the Mediterranean. Forensic Oceanography. 6 Human Rights Watch (2019). No escape from hell: EU policies contribute to abuse of migrants in Libya. 7 UNOCHA (2020). 2020 Humanitarian Response Monitoring. 8 UNSMIL-OHCHR (2018). Desperate and dangerous: Report on the human rights situation of migrants and refugees in Libya. 9 Reuters (2020). Libya’s Tripoli government declares emergency, shuts down ports, airports. 10 UNHCR (2020). IOM, UNHCR announce temporary suspension of resettlement travel for refugees. Press Release. 11 ANSAmed (2020). Libya: IOM, first migrant repatriation after 5-month pause. idcoalition.org | westernsydney.edu.au/hadri 33