All migrants who attempt to cross the Mediterranean without succeeding are intercepted by Libyan coast guards and end up in these detention centers where living conditions are appalling. According to the UN agency for refugees (UNHCR), in just the month of January, 1,040 migrants and refugees were intercepted at sea and brought back to detention camps in Libya.

For Walid Elhouderi, an official with Libya's Human Rights Commission, this situation is unacceptable, especially with the coronavirus crisis: "Even though these camps represent less than 5% of the African migrant population in Libya, we know that these people have absolutely no chance of surviving. We are expecting an unprecedented human catastrophe. Personally, I can tell you that Libya's National Human Rights Commission places responsibility primarily and directly on the United Nations refugee agency. Local governments as well, and the authorities of these militias, who do everything to create and maintain this barbaric situation, which is lucrative for them who traffic for their own unscrupulous gains. It is now necessary, obviously, to take responsibility for what will happen".

And the official from Libya's Human Rights Commission appeals to the international community. "It must absolutely react. We must absolutely help these people. These concentration camps of death must be closed—these human prisons—and help must be given to repatriate these people to their countries. Or, obviously, help some to obtain asylum in Europe, according to known international laws and conventions", warns Walid Elhouderi.