Libya

Libya’s political and security crisis continues as two authorities, the Tripoli based UN-backed Government of National Accord and a rival government based in eastern Libya, compete for legitimacy and territorial control. Protracted armed clashes have left scores of thousands displaced inside Libya and interrupted access to basic services such as healthcare and electricity. Militias and armed groups, often with links to the competing governments, harass and persecute civilians with impunity, and carry out arbitrary detention, torture, unlawful killings, indiscriminate attacks, disappearances, seizure of property and forced displacement. Courts are semi-functional, and various obstacles hinder access to fair trials. Hundreds of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers, including children, who flock to Libya often en route to Europe, risk torture, sexual assault, and forced labor by prison guards, coast guard forces, and smugglers.