On February 17, 2026, a new UN report revealed the alarming conditions faced by migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in Libya, highlighting systemic human rights violations including murder, torture, and sexual violence. The report, issued by the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Support Mission in Libya, states that these individuals are often rounded up by criminal trafficking networks, which have ties to Libyan authorities. Thameen Al-Kheetan, a spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office, emphasized the severity of the situation, stating, "Migrants are rounded up and abducted...often at gunpoint, in what amounts to arbitrary detention." The report indicates that by the end of 2025, nearly 5,000 people were held in official detention centers, with the actual number likely much higher, as NGOs estimate. Furthermore, the report documented 33,348 deaths and missing persons in the Mediterranean from 2014 to 2025, underscoring the perilous journey many undertake to escape conflict and poverty.