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GENEVA / LIBYA DETENTION CENTRE ESCAPE
STORY: GENEVA / LIBYA DETENTION CENTRE ESCAPE
TRT: 1:45
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 1 JUNE 2018 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, exterior shot, Palais des Nations.
2. Wide shot, United Nations press room.
3. SOUNDBITE (English) William Spindler, spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, (UNHCR):
“According to the survivors, people were shot while trying to escape and during attempts to recapture them. The survivors spoke of torture, abuse and exploitation at the hands of traffickers - some being held in captivity for up to three years.”
4. Close up shot, journalist.
5. SOUNDBITE (English) William Spindler, spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, (UNHCR):
“It’s the latest horror story coming out of Libya where, as we all know, people are being held by traffickers in horrific conditions, often sold into modern-day slavery.”
6. Close up shot, journalist.
7. SOUNDBITE (English) William Spindler, spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, (UNHCR):
“There have been many instances of documented cases of people being held in horrific conditions in Libya by traffickers, so this is not an isolated case. This is unusual in the sense that we hear that people who are being held are trying to escape and break out from this illegal place where they are being held.”
8. Close up shot, journalist.
9. SOUNDBITE (English) William Spindler, spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, (UNHCR):
“The issue in Libya is that there are, so far, no places where people who are found in this situation can be taken to, who are not detention. Detention is mandatory for all undocumented people who find themselves in the country, whether they are refugees or economic migrants.”
10. Wide shot, journalists.
12. Close up, journalist.
13. Med shot, journalists.
14. Close up, journalist.
More than a dozen people have been killed or wounded by traffickers as they attempted to flee a detention centre in Libya last month, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said on Friday, describing it as the “latest horror story” to emerge from the war-torn country.
The victims were among a group of around 200 Eritreans, Ethiopians and Somalis who escaped on May 23, according to UNHCR spokesperson William Spindler, who said “according to the survivors, people were shot while trying to escape and during attempts to recapture them. The survivors spoke of torture, abuse and exploitation at the hands of traffickers - some being held in captivity for up to three years.”
Spindler told journalists that the escape attempt took place in Bani Walid, nearly 200 kilometres south of the capital Tripoli.
It is one of many areas of the North African country that have been under the control of armed groups since the overthrow of the late President Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
The UNHCR spokesperson added that the survivors have been transferred to an official detention centre closer to Tripoli, where they have been given relief items and psychosocial support.
The agency is in discussions with the Libyan authorities to build an open reception centre for migrants and refugees, but for the time being, detention is “mandatory”.
Spindler said “the issue in Libya is that there are, so far, no places where people who are found in this situation can be taken to, who are not detention. Detention is mandatory for all undocumented people who find themselves in the country, whether they are refugees or economic migrants.”
Among the survivors are “a large number of unaccompanied children” and UNHCR is working to identify the most vulnerable who may need international protection.
Spindler said “It’s the latest horror story coming out of Libya where, as we all know, people are being held by traffickers in horrific conditions, often sold into modern-day slavery.”
Warning that many refugees and migrants may still be hiding or in captivity in or near Bani Walid, Spindler told journalists that the incident highlighted the “huge challenge” of providing protection to migrants and refugees in Libya:
“There have been many instances of documented cases of people being held in horrific conditions in Libya by traffickers, so this is not an isolated case. This is unusual in the sense that we hear that people who are being held are trying to escape and break out from this illegal place where they are being held.”
The oil-rich State has attracted nationals seeking work from neighbouring countries for decades, and more recently those fleeing war and persecution from the African continent and beyond.
A recent study by the UN human rights office, OHCHR, and the UN Support Mission in the country, known as UNSMIL, estimated that some 6,500 people are being held in official prisons in Libya. Thousands more are in facilities run by armed groups, some of which are affiliated with the State, the study found.
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