ActionAid International, a non-governmental organisation, wants Libya suspended from the African Union (AU) until all captive and bonded persons within its soils are released. 

This was contained in a letter by the organisation to Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairman of the AU, on Monday.

ActionAid also requested each African government to immediately begin to identify, register and track their citizens in and across Libya and Europe as a first step to releasing them from physical or economic captivity and bondage, and bringing them home as free citizens.

According to ActionAid, this slave trade has a particular impact on young people, as they are the ones making the perilous journeys to Europe in search of better opportunities.

“It is a real irony that while governments often claim they prioritize youth, the continent is faced with Libyan slavery and slave trade challenges,” Jemal Ahmed, Regional Director for East and Southern Africa at ActionAid, said.

The NGO urged governments to develop a clear strategy to reach more young men and women with programmes that protect all their human rights and guarantee them safety and security.

It pointed out the need for various African governments to provide appropriate information and an open process for migration to their citizens who want to migrate.

Funmilayo Oyefusi, Interim Country Director, ActionAid Nigeria, urged the Nigerian government to take urgent, practical steps to restore the confidence of youth in the Nigerian state through sustainable empowerment programmes.

“The increasing number of graduates competing for scarce employment opportunities coupled with the continuous brain drain of the nation’s best human capital has continuously widened the poverty gap and makes one wonder what the future holds,” Onyefusi said

She called on the Nigerian government to prioritise rehabilitation and reintegration of the returnees, and devise clear strategies that will protect the human rights of Nigerian migrants and fast-track response to similar infringements should it occur.