Libya: Refugees and Migrants’ Access to Resources, Housing and Healthcare

Refugees and migrants in Libya are among the most vulnerable groups in the context of the ongoing humanitarian crisis. Due to the elevated level of insecurity and to the criminalisation of undocumented migrants, many are held in detention centres, with a number of studies pointing to their inadequate living conditions. On the other hand, very limited information is available on the protection needs and coping strategies of the wider population of refugees and migrants living outside detention facilities in Libya. In response to this gap, REACH, in partnership with the Start Network and NGO International Medical Corps conducted an assessment in three locations in Libya: Tripoli, Misrata and Sebha to shed light on refugees and migrants’ access to economic resources, housing and healthcare. The assessment was funded by the Migration Emergency Response Fund – managed by the Start Network – through its mechanism for collective information collection and analysis grants. REACH facilitates the development of information tools and products that enhance the capacity of aid actors to make evidence-based decisions in emergency, recovery and development contexts. For more information, please visit their website http://www.reach-initiative.org.

Refugees and migrants in Libya are estimated to be around 700,000 to one million, and are among the most vulnerable groups in the context of the ongoing humanitarian crisis. While the living conditions of refugees and migrants living in detention centres have been increasingly investigated, very limited information is available on the protection needs of the larger and hard-to-reach population of refugees and migrants living in host communities. In order to promote evidence-based humanitarian response in support of refugee and migrant populations living outside detention facilities in Libya, REACH, in collaboration with the Start Network, conducted an assessment of refugees and migrants’ access to economic resources and services in three urban areas of Libya - Tripoli, Misrata and Sebha, considered the most densely populated areas in the country.

The findings of this assessment are based on primary data collected between 30 October and 26 November 2017 through: (i) 60 semi-structured key informant interviews with migration experts and practitioners in intergovernmental organisations, national and international non-governmental organisations, and community-based organisations in Libya, and (ii) 120 semi-structured individual interviews with refugees and migrants. Respondents were sampled purposively on the basis of (i) their region of origin and (ii) time of arrival in Libya. As the research methods used are qualitative, findings are indicative only and cannot be generalised to the whole population of refugees and migrants living in the three locations. Operational constraints especially affected the quality of data related to migratory intentions across the different strata, so analysis of these indicators has been limited.