COVID-19 IMPACTS ON IMMIGRATION DETENTION: GLOBAL RESPONSES In April 2020, Italy and Malta both declared their ports unsafe for disembarkation owing to the COVID-19 pandemic12. This added to logistical difficulties that led several NGOs to halt their search and rescue (SAR) operations. Further, the few operating vessels have been docked in ports for several weeks because of quarantine procedures13. As a result, between March and August, SAR operations along the Central Mediterranean Route have largely been suspended14. The COVID-19 pandemic has also reduced the ability of humanitarian actors in Libya to provide assistance and carry out monitoring functions. On the one hand, access to detention centres has reportedly been inconsistent. On the other hand, the paucity of resources limited the Libyan National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)’s capacity to perform medical checks at disembarkation points for returned migrants15. MAIN IMPACT ON MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES The main impact of border closures and restricted mobility on migrants and refugees can be summarized as: (i) reduced economic opportunities and food security; (ii) increased irregular departures, interceptions and related detention; (iii) increased overcrowding of detention facilities and related health hazards. this is not the case in the South of the country where 43 percent of migrants reportedly do not have regular access to water or sanitation17. This exposes them to a higher risk of contracting COVID-19. Closed borders, together with the deteriorating socio-economic situation in Libya and the lack of access to basic services, have made refugees and migrants in Libya more prone to seek the services of human smugglers. The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) recorded 8,489 migrants irregularly crossing on the Central Mediterranean Route18 between January and June 2020, compared to only 3,872 during the first half of 2019 (+119%)19. One possible reason is that migrants in Libya reportedly faced stricter restrictions on mobility, declined livelihood opportunities and food security levels compromised20. According to IOM, the percentage of migrants reporting to be unemployed rose from 17% in last February to 29% in June 202021. Travel restrictions and loss of economic opportunities may have exposed migrants to increased risk of trafficking, in particular women migrant workers22. As migrant domestic workers are not fully covered by national labour laws23, even when violations of rights are flagrant only a few are reported. Victims of abuses fear losing their jobs and therefore their permit to stay in the country (which could lead to detention and deportation). Reducing labour mobility and employment opportunities, the pandemic has also affected the willingness of migrant victims to report abuses perpetrated by their employers. The formal policy of detention has remained in place in Libya. Between March and August 2020, about half of the refugees and migrants disembarked in Libya were transferred to detention centres managed by the DCIM24. As a likely consequence of COVID-19’s destabilizing effect in Libya, attempted sea crossings increased in 2020 compared to 2019. According to the IOM’s Missing Migrants Project, there have been 23,141 attempts to cross the Mediterranean Sea in the first seven months of 2020 (+103%), compared with 11,373 in the first seven months of 201925. As of 17 September2020, UNHCR reported 8,074 refugees and migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya (+21%), compared with 6,650 during the same period in 201926. Source: authors. According to the IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM)16, 74 percent of migrants in Libya have limited or no access to health services, which makes them vulnerable to infectious diseases. Although more than 80 percent of the migrants in Libya have access to water and sanitation, 12 Tondo L. (2020). Italy declares own ports ‘unsafe’ to stop migrants arriving. The Guardian; Scicluna C. (2020). Malta says it can no longer rescue, accept migrants. Reuters. 13 Zander M. (2020). Coronavirus crisis hampering Mediterranean migrant rescues. Deutsche Welle; Reidy E. (2020). How COVID-19 halted NGO migrant rescues in the Mediterranean. The New Humanitarian. 14 Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (2020). Press briefing note on Migrant rescues in the Mediterranean. 15 United Nations Security Council (2020). Implementation of resolution 2491 (2019). Report of the Secretary-General S/2020/876. 16 IOM DTM (2019). Migrants Needs and Vulnerability Assessment. 17 Ibid. 18 See https://frontex.europa.eu/along-eu-borders/migratory-map/ for a map of main Mediterranean Routes. 19 Frontex (2020). Detections of illegal border crossings. 20 IOM DTM (2020). Migrant Emergency Food Security Report. 21 IOM DTM (2020). COVID-19 Mobility Tracking #3. 22 Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (2020). Addressing Emerging Human Trafficking Trends and Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). 23 United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Africa (2020). Situation Report on International Migration 2019: The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration in the Context of the Arab Region. 24 United Nations Security Council (2020). Implementation of resolution 2491 (2019). Report of the Secretary-General S/2020/876. 25 See https://missingmigrants.iom.int/region/mediterranean. 26 UNHCR (2020). Update Libya (18 September 2020); UNHCR (2019). Update Libya (20 September 2019). 34 International Detention Coalition and Western Sydney University