Libya - IOM has held a five-day training for managers and staff of Libyan detention centres on The Promotion and Protection of Migrants’ Human Rights inside the Detention Centres.

The training was designed to build the capacity of detention centre authorities to ensure that migrants in detention centres are treated in a way that upholds their dignity and fully respects their human rights. 

Directorate for Combatting Irregular Migration (DCIM) officials from five detention centres (Abu Sleem, Triq Al Sekka, Triq Al Matar, Ghariyan and Al Khums) participated in the training, which also included improving their knowledge on identifying vulnerable groups, addressing their needs and enhancing existing referral mechanisms.

“A strong young man rescued at sea can be a vulnerable case too. Vulnerability is not about gender, it’s about the circumstances a person has had to face,” explained anti-human trafficking training expert Dr Joana Daniel-Wrabetz. “DCIM deals with these cases daily and this training is not about pointing fingers, it’s about sharing information and finding solutions,” she added.

The training also included sessions on migrants’ rights, the links between human trafficking and smuggling, external communication and protection, as well as how to interview and protect vulnerable migrants.

In addition to these topics, IOM, together with UNHCR, the Danish Refugee Council, Save the Children, International Medical Corps and UNFPA, discussed migrants’ health in detention. Most of the problems raised by the detention centre staff were linked to the lack of sanitary facilities and the risk of the spread of communicable diseases.

“It’s very important to talk about the health situation and to know how to reduce the risk of contagious diseases for the migrants and for ourselves as well,” said Makram Mabrouk, one of the training participants.

“We continuously need medical assistance, especially for pregnant women and also for women and children in general, in order to meet their specific needs,” said Abdalhakeem Shlabik, who works for the DICM inspection and follow-up office.

Closer collaboration and better communication channels between IOM and DCIM were agreed on to ensure more timely and accurate responses.

The trainings are part of the project: Supporting Libyan Authorities in Managing Migration Flows by Improving Compliance with Human Rights in Migrants’ Detention Centres and Through Voluntary Repatriations, funded by the United Kingdom.

The project’s overall aim is to improve detention infrastructure to ensure humane detention conditions and ensure target detention centres meet minimum international standards, as well as to provide capacity building for the DCIM.

IOM is about to begin the refurbishment of the Al Khum’s detention centre, which will include improvement of ventilation and heating systems, and repairing toilets, sewage systems and waste disposal containers. Under the same project, IOM has also conducted an anti-scabies treatment of detainees at the Triq Al Sekka detention centre.

For further information, please contact IOM Libya. Othman Belbeisi, Tel: +216 29 600389, Email: obelbeisi@iom.int or Maysa Khalil, Tel: +216 29 600388, Email: mkhalil@iom.int