A comprehensive report by the NATO-affiliated “Melting Pot Europe” platform has launched a critical assessment of migration data in Libya, asserting that figures published by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) fail to capture the true scale of the crisis. The report warns that such data, while technically significant, generates an “illusion of knowledge” that effectively masks systemic human rights abuses. According to the analysis, this structural lack of transparent data is a direct byproduct of European policies focused on externalising border controls. By funding Libyan authorities for interception and detention through bilateral agreements and integrated management programmes, these policies bolster security infrastructures without establishing the necessary mechanisms for international accountability or oversight.
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The report details how Libya has become an extraordinarily hostile environment for data collection, shaped by systematic violence, institutional fragmentation, and a significant reduction in humanitarian access. Many migrants remain “invisible” to international organisations, bypassed by official counts because they are arbitrarily detained in clandestine facilities, trapped in informal exploitation cycles, or forced into constant mobility to escape persecution. Although IOM data identified 928,839 migrants between August and October 2025—a rise from previous rounds—the European report maintains that this is merely a “partial snapshot.” While Sudanese, Egyptian, and Nigerien nationals dominate the documented figures, countless others remain unregistered within trafficking networks and unmonitored transit zones.
EU ‘complicit’ in refugee abuse in Libya, new international report claims
Regarding demographics and living conditions, the report notes that while western Libya remains the primary hub with 52% of the migrant population, the east (Cyrenaica) is rapidly emerging as a critical logistical axis, now accounting for 37%. With unemployment among migrants soaring to 74% and most available work confined to hazardous sectors like construction, the risk of forced labour and physical abuse is extreme. The report specifically challenges the “statistical distortion” regarding housing; while official data suggests 86% live in rented accommodation, this figure excludes thousands held in official and unofficial detention centres or those subjected to human trafficking. Ultimately, the report concludes that the current “statistical silence” serves a political agenda that ignores the reality of torture and exploitation faced by those trapped outside formal records