Mediaboss Marketing

Children outside a government-run detention centre in Libya. Photograph: Romenzi/Unicef

Women and children making the dangerous journey to Europe to flee poverty and conflicts in Africa are being beaten, raped and starved in living hellholes in Libya, the United Nations childrens agency, Unicef, has said.

Children are being sexually abused, coerced into prostitution and work, and held to ransom for months in squalid, overcrowded detention centres, as they flee war and poverty in Africa to undertake one of the most dangerous journeys in the world to Europe, the agency warned in a new report.

Last year, more than 181,000 refugees and migrants, including more than 25,800 unaccompanied children, arrived in Italy via the central Mediterranean smuggling route, through Libya. Thousands of people died on the way.

Unofficial detention centres controlled by militia serve as lucrative businesses that profit from trafficking, and are no more than forced labour camps and makeshift prisons, Unicef said. For the thousands of migrant women and children incarcerated, [the centres] were living hellholes where people were held for months.

Three-quarters of migrant children interviewed in Libya by the International Organisation for Cooperation and Emergency Aid, (IOCEA) a Unicef partner, reported experiencing violence, harassment or aggression at the hands of adults during their journey to Italy. The snapshot survey of 122 women and child migrants also found a growing number of teenage girls forced by smugglers to have Depo-Provera contraceptive jabs, so they could be raped without becoming pregnant.

Sexual violence and abuse was widespread and systematic at crossings and checkpoints. A third of the women and children interviewed said their assailants wore uniforms or appeared to be associated with the military. Nearly half of the women and children reported sexual abuse during migration, often multiple times and in multiple locations, the report found.

The central Mediterranean from north Africa to Europe is among the worlds deadliest and most dangerous migrant routes for children and women, said Afshan Khan, Unicef regional director and special coordinator for the refugee and response crises in Europe. The route is mostly controlled by smugglers, traffickers and other people seeking to prey upon desperate children and women who are simply seeking refuge or a better life. We need safe and legal pathways and safeguards to protect migrating children that keep them safe and keep predators at bay.

The Unicef study, A Deadly Journey for Children (pdf), found most women and children had paid smugglers at the beginning of their journey, under pay as you go schemes, leaving many of them in debt and vulnerable to abuse, abduction and trafficking.

The study found that children whose parents have not paid enough money to smugglers were held to ransom for thousands of dollars, mostly between Sudan or Libya, or in Libya itself.

Most said they expected to spend extended periods working in Libya to pay for the next leg of the journey. One Nigerian boy, aged 15, who was held in a Libyan detention centre, told IOCEA: Here they treat us like chickens. They beat us, they do not give us good water and good food. They harass us. So many people are dying here, dying from disease, freezing to death.

A survey by IOM in October found that 70% of migrants travelling overland through north Africa to Europe have become victims of human trafficking and exploitation along the way, and a pattern of torture, forced labour and arbitrary detention of migrants and asylum seekers in Libya has been documented by the UN.

This year is proving the deadliest yet for the central Mediterranean migration route, a billion-dollar industry controlled by criminal networks. The International Organisation for Migration reported 326 people travelling from Libya to Italy died at sea, between 1 January and 22 February, a 300% increase on the same time last year when 97 died. Last year, 4,579 people died making the crossing between the Mediterranean between Libya and Italy equivalent to one in 40 including an estimated 700 children. The UN has said nightmarish conditions in Libya were helping drive a surge in the numbers of migrants attempting to reach Italy in the depths of winter.

Some 34 detention centres have been identified in Libya, holding between 4,000 and 7,000 detainees, of which 24 are run by the Libyan government department for combating illegal migration (DCIM). Unicef, which only has access to fewer than half of the government-run centres and none of those run by militia, reported some had 20 people crammed into cells not larger than two square metres for long periods of time, it said.

Justin Forsyth, deputy executive director of Unicef, said: The results of this rapid assessment demand action. We cant have a situation where children and women disappear into a hellhole. They are being sexually assaulted, abused, exploited and killed.

The report called on Libya, the EU and the international community to establish safe and legal pathways for children fleeing war or poverty along the route.

This month the EU backed an agreement between Italy and Libya to stem the arrival of migrants to Europe, which prompted condemnation by human rights groups.

Lily Caprani, Unicef UKs deputy executive director, urged MPs to vote to support more unaccompanied child refugees in a vote on Tuesday in parliament. She said: Because the safe and legal routes available are so limited, traffickers and smugglers control the route, preying on vulnerable children seeking a better life in Europe and UK. Even when children reach Europe, the traffickers and smugglers continue to control and coerce these children. The stories revealed in this work are harrowing no child should face these horrors.

The UK government deserves credit for supporting vulnerable children in conflict affected states, but it must also protect these vulnerable children in Europe by providing safe and legal pathways to the UK for those who have a legal claim.

Read this article:
Refugee women and children 'beaten, raped and starved in Libyan hellholes' - The Guardian

Tripoli - The head of Libya's embattled unity government Fayez al-Sarraj will visit Moscow this week, a government source said on Monday, after a key rival sought to build ties with Russia.

A source from the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) said Sarraj would begin a visit to Moscow on Thursday, without providing further details.

The visit comes as Libya continues to be submerged in chaos, six years after the ouster and killing of longtime dictator Moammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed armed uprising.

Sarraj's fragile GNA, formed under a UN-backed deal signed in late 2015, has struggled to impose its authority, particularly in eastern Libya where a rival administration holds sway.

Military strongman Khalifa Haftar is aligned with the rival administration and commands the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army which is battling jihadists and controls key oil export terminals.

In November Haftar travelled to Moscow to seek support for an end to a UN arms embargo and in January visited a Russian aircraft carrier off the coast of Libya.

Earlier this month, dozens of his fighters were flown to Russia for medical treatment.

Analysts believe that Russia, emboldened by its military success in Syria, is seeking a foothold in oil-rich Libya with support for Haftar.

On February 14 Russia tried to mediate a meeting between Sarraj and Haftar in Cairo, but the bid fell through.

Sarraj's visit also comes after Russian oil giant Rosneft and Libya's National Oil Corporation last week signed a deal to explore possible cooperation in various fields, including exploration and production.

Mattia Toaldo, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said the agreement was "a good example of Russia's options in Libya".

"Russians could provide military support to Haftar but they would risk an indefinite escalation that would jeopardise their interests," said Toaldo.

"It is much more convenient for them to emphasise their political role as mediators between Sarraj and Haftar while deepening their business and military presence," he added.

Toaldo said he expected Sarraj to seek Russia's support for a review of the deal which paved the way for the GNA's creation.

The aim, he said, would be for Russia to persuade Haftar to support the GNA in exchange for a bigger role on the political scene.

24.com encourages commentary submitted via MyNews24. Contributions of 200 words or more will be considered for publication.

View post:
Libya PM heading to Moscow to seek better ties - News24

The Islamic State militant group (ISIS) forced nurses to treat its fighters in the coastal Libyan city of Sirte and provided them with courses in nursing and emergency care, a Filipina nurse said Monday.

The group occupied the hometown of deposed dictator Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi for more than a year, before militias allied to the U.N.-backed government in Libyaousted the group in December after a month-long battle.

In Sirtes recapture, authorities freed the nurse and six other women, some of whom were medical colleagues, alongside a man and a 10-month-old child.

Try Newsweek for only $1.25 per week

The Filipino nurses were already working in the Libyan city when ISIS overran the coastal hub in June 2015.

The radical militants imprisoned the nurses, but upon discovering they were Muslim, released themon condition that they residein the citys main hospital to provide medical care and teaching to wounded fighters. Thisincluded basic measures on how to give first-aid to their fellow jihadists, according to the unidentified medical worker.

When they found out we were Muslim they released us but under a strict condition that we will have to work as nurses in their hospital and we had to train ISIS on emergency care and nursing course, the nurse told reporters in Tripoli, Libyas capital, Reuters reported.

It was a horrible time. Each day we lived in fear. We didn't know what was going to happen next. And they threatened to kill us if we left Sirte.

Read more: ISIS loses Libya's Sirte, the only city it controlled outside Iraq and Syria

ISIS held several foreign hostages in the city, where it had imposed its brutal brand of ultra conservative Islam, hanging residents from lampposts, lashing and crucifying dissenters and imposing extortionate taxes on the population it controlled to instil an environment of fear. It also killed Dutch photojournalist Jeroen Oerlemans as the battle for the city raged. Libyan forces say they freed at least five other foreign hostages: two Turkish nationals, two Indians and one Bangladeshi.

The extremist group capitalized on the five years of instability in Libya after the NATO-led ousting of Qaddafi in 2011 at the height of the Arab Spring. But several opposing forces have since beaten the group back in what had become its North African hub outside of its self-styled caliphate in Iraq and Syria.

While militias allied to the Tripoli-based, U.N.-backed government fight the group, so to are the forces of General Khalifa Haftar, who presides over what he calls the Libyan National Army, a fighting force allied to a rival government in eastern Libya.

The U.S. military has conducted airstrikes against the group near the western Libyan town of Sabratha, where it has established training camps in close proximity to the porous Tunisian border. French and British special forces have also been reported to operate in the country, aiding the different factions fighting ISIS.

Read more here:
ISIS Forced Philippine Nurses to Treat Militants in Libya's Sirte - Newsweek

Some of the returnees last week at MMIA

Within two weeks this month, more than 300 young Nigerians were repatriated from Libya in two batches by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in collaboration with the Nigerian embassy in Libya. These are just the latest groups in an exercise that has reportedly been on for the past 14 months. In some cases, the returnees have acted voluntarily; in others, they have been forced out of the country by Libyan authorities. In every case, however, the returnees have nothing but tales of woe and expressions of regret for their decision to leave their country in search of the so-called, and as it has turned out, elusive, greener pasture.

One lady spoke of being sold to a connection home where she, and others were forced to work or suffer inhuman punishment; another who returned with a four-month pregnancy complained of repeated rape by Libyan security officials. Those who were lucky to find work at all eventually lost their savings in the confusion of arrest, detention, and eventual deportation. In sum, frustrated but hopeful young Nigerians who mustered the courage to seek their fortune outside these shores only to return in hopelessness.

Certainly, the repeated mistreatment of Nigerians in foreign lands continually puts theembassies in bad light as derelict in the most basic of their responsibilities. Notwithstanding the understandablelimitations that they face, notably funding, it is important to state that the missionscan only justify their presence and value if they meet theconstitutionally stipulatedpurpose ofany government which is toprotect the security and welfare of Nigerians wherever they are.

Talk can indeed be cheap in the mouth of a person whose yam has been roasted for him by the gods. This is particularly so among people in government. But the point must be quickly established:these returnees were not foolish. They were unhappy and frustrated in their fatherland. With no help coming from incompetent, corruption-ridden governments at all levels, they decided to take their destiny in their hands, for good or for ill. These people have gone in search of greener pasture. However, it turned out to be a terrible experience for them.They shouldnt be ashamed of themselves. This statement from the government is very apt and re-assuring.

Indeed the returnees are not ashamed of themselves; they are ashamed of their country. And every one should be. Everyone, but especially those who havebeen part offormulating,and implementing policies atgovernment level should be doubly ashamedthatthis Nigeria, blessed withunbelievable variety ofnatural resources, with exceptionalpeople whoexcel phenomenallywhen exposed to otherclimes, is in so sorry a state.In truth, the grass in other countries is hardly greener than here. Butthe managers of the affairs of these other countrieshave done a farbetter jobthan the persons who have runNigeriain thelastfour decades.By every yardstick to compare, every country that started out on the path of self-governance in the same year as Nigeria has left Nigeria behind. Nigerias youths who flock Libya en route Europe or some other greener pasture cannot be blamed for this. On the other hand they may be blamed for a particular form of ignorance. In a manner of speaking, the grass in other places is greener by a deliberate act of the people who stay to nurture it. Nigeria will not improve by the act of running away from it. No.

The mostefficaciousway to open up the Nigerianspace for maximumproductivity in all areas, of course, is to practice a true form of federalism thatenablesthefederating units to harnesstheirown resources in order to develop their areas and liberate their peoples respective creative and productive energies. In a country where the federating states possess somuch human and natural resources, there will be no shortage of opportunities for the citizens as each unit leverages on its area of comparative advantage and all engage in a healthy rivalry for development. It happened before, in the days of the regions. That done, foreigners would be finding their way to Nigeria instead of Nigerians seeking their fortune away from home.

1 day ago Opinion

1 day ago Opinion

Continue reading here:
From Libya with woes - Guardian

A Societe Generale SA executive will have his testimony in a Libyan bribery lawsuit heard in secret because of the risk he may incriminate himself in a U.S. criminal probe.

Judge Nigel Teare refused a request by head of sales for global markets Marc El Asmar to escape testifying,according to the bankers attorneys, who said on Monday that his inclusion in the trial carries the threat of foreign incrimination. Hell give evidence in private when the trial starts later this year.

The most important business stories of the day.

Get Bloomberg's daily newsletter.

The bank is being sued by the Libyan Investment Authority, which alleges billion-dollar investment deals with the French lender were tainted by bribery and intimidation of Libyan officials. The London lawsuit is running in parallel with a separate U.S. Justice Department investigation. A DOJ subpoena issued to the bank named El Asmar, making it more likely he will be included in the probe, his lawyer Alex Bailin said at a pre-trial hearing Monday.

Even if his testimony was not used as evidence in criminal trial, it may be used to shape the DOJs investigation, Bailin said. Any questions may expose him to the real risk of incrimination in the U.S.

Societe Generale said in its 2015 annual report that it is co-operating with American authorities and denies allegations of wrongdoing in relation to the Libya deals. The bank has reviewed more than 600,000 documents and audio files for the investigation. Murray Parker, a London-based spokesman for Societe Generale, declined to comment.

Libyas $60 billion sovereign-wealth fund is suing the French lender to recoup losses from derivative deals dating to the rule of former leader Moammar Qaddafi. The LIA also sued Goldman Sachs Group Inc. but lost its case in October when a London judge ruled the fund hadnt been misled.

Having his evidence heard in private combined with my client being forced to testify under threat of contempt would offer some protection against U.S. prosecution, Bailin said. Even so, the DOJ has already sought information from the U.K. Serious Fraud Office that is covered by a court confidentiality order and may do so again, he added.

Go here to read the rest:
SocGen Banker to Give Secret Testimony in Libya Bribery Case - Bloomberg