Libya - In a hopeful sign for future engagement, IOM Libya has taken part in a one-day meeting bringing together Libyan Directorate for Combating Illegal Migration (DCIM) representatives from the East and West of the country. They met in the Tunisian capital, Tunis.

Organized by the Migrants in Detention Working Group (MDWG) – a working group that includes UN agencies and international NGOs working in Libyan migrant detention centers – the workshop discussed the challenges facing humanitarian organizations trying to meet the needs of detained migrants. 
 
The workshop was jointly organized by IOM, UNHCR, the Danish Refugee Council and UNSMIL – Human rights section. The International Medical Corps and the Italian Council for Refugees also took part.

Issues discussed included the challenges associated with MDWG agency access to detention centres, security and whether DCIM could provide escorts for aid workers in some parts of the country. Other topics included humanitarian repatriation of detained migrants and alternatives to detention. 

DCIM representatives highlighted resource challenges and asked for more support from humanitarian agencies in areas including medical services, renovation and fumigation of detention centres, and the provision of non-food items such as mattresses, blankets, clothes and personal hygiene kits.

The workshop was funded by ECHO as part of an IOM project: “Establishing a Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) System in Libya for Tracking People Displaced by the Crisis and Enhancing and Saving Lives in Mixed Migration Flows from Libya”.

For further information, please contact IOM Libya. Othman Belbeisi, Tel +216 29 600389, Email: obelbeisi@iom.int or Ashraf Hassan, Tel: +21629794707 Email: ashassan@iom.int