The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has expressed its concern about the risks of an outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic among migrants held in Libyan detention centers.
“With the increase in COVID-19 cases in Libya, UNHCR has been particularly concerned about the high risks facing people held in detention centers, in overcrowded conditions and with poor sanitation facilities,” UNHCR said in a statement on Tuesday.
UNHCR noted that it has helped to support the transfer of all asylum seekers detained at the Zintan detention center to Tripoli. “Most of those released had been detained for more than two years in extremely dire conditions,” it confirmed.
The statement added that these centers remain open, despite international calls to close them down and put an end to arbitrary detention in Libya. It concluded by saying that it has long advocated for the release of all refugees and asylum seekers in Libya.
