Overview

Militias, armed groups and security forces continued to arbitrarily detain thousands of people, some for over a decade, without allowing them to challenge the lawfulness of their detention. Scores of journalists, politicians, government employees and civil society activists were abducted, forcibly disappeared and tortured or otherwise ill-treated on the basis of their actual or perceived political, regional or tribal affiliation and/or activism connected to planned elections. Militias and armed groups killed and wounded civilians and destroyed civilian property during sporadic, localized clashes. Attacks by armed groups on water infrastructure undermined access to clean water for millions of people. Authorities continued to integrate into state institutions and fund militias and armed groups responsible for war crimes and serious human rights violations. Authorities failed to protect women, girls and LGBTI people from sexual and gender-based violence or to address discrimination. Ethnic minorities and internally displaced people faced barriers in accessing education and healthcare. Militias and security forces used unlawful lethal force and other violence to arbitrarily arrest thousands of migrants and refugees, while EU-backed Libyan coastguards intercepted at sea thousands of others and forcibly returned them to detention in Libya. Detained migrants and refugees were subjected to torture, unlawful killings, sexual violence and forced labour. Military courts convicted scores of civilians in grossly unfair trials.