UN appeals to Libya authorities to stop enforced disappearances

In a statement marking the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, UNSMIL, expressed its concerns over two MPs who remain missing, according to the Libya Observer on August 31st.

UNSMIL’s statement also drew attention to the broader disturbing rise in systemic enforced disappearances across Libya that have a range of targets including political figures, opposition members, journalists, human rights defenders, activists, and ordinary citizens.

As reported in Maghrebi Weekly, human rights activist Ahlam al-Warfali has claimed that “there’s no safety in Libya,” and the violations being committed by authorities are “crimes against humanity punishable under international law.”

The concerning use of solitary confinement and torture in unofficial detention centres is a related issue also drawing attention.

The two missing MPs of the House of Representatives that UNSMIL highlighted in their statement are Ibrahim al-Dersi and Siham Sirgewa.

Al-Dersi went missing on May 16th 2024, following his attendance at a parade held by the self-proclaimed Libyan Arab Armed Forces in Benghazi, according to an Amnesty International report.

In May of 2025, a year after al-Dersi’s disappearance, graphic footage emerged on social media of the MP shackled by the neck in a detention centre and visibly suffering from severe torture and exhaustion.

His disappearance has been connected by some sources to his public criticism of power centralisation in eastern Libya.

MP Siham Sergewa was abducted from her home in Benghazi by kidnappers on July 17th 2019, with UNSMIL recently marking the six years since her disappearance by calling for a comprehensive and independent investigation, as no credible or official investigation was launched at the time.

Serwega’s kidnappers are widely believed to be forces loyal to General Khalifa Haftar of the Libyan National Army.

To mark the International Day of Victims of Enforced Disappearances, UNSMIL also drew attention to the discovery of mass graves and unidentified remains in Tripoli and inside former detention sites, warning about the spread of fear, obstruction of national and political reconciliation, and the impact on the possibility of Libya holding free and fair elections.

The next steps to address these issues suggested by UNSMIL includes signing the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture.

UNSMIL also called for the full disclosure of the locations and fates of all missing persons through a national authority tasked with searching for the missing, and a national preventive mechanism, both of which would operate in line with international standards and Libyan legislation.

Finally, their statement also highlighted the need to ensure accountability for perpetrators through cooperation with the International Criminal Court and UN mechanisms, which in July of 2025 the rival administrations of Libya disagreed over, with the eastern government rejecting the ICC’s jurisdiction.

Reparations and compensation for victims and their families is another important step to move toward reconciliation, as well as the facilitation of psychological and social support.

Libya Observer/Amnesty International/Maghrebi/Maghrebi Weekly/ UNSMIL