[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 644 Engrossed in House (EH)]

<DOC>
H. Res. 644

                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                         July 10, 2018.
Whereas Libya has become the primary transit hub for migrants and refugees 
        attempting to reach Southern Europe;
Whereas in December 2016, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for 
        Human Rights reported that many migrants and refugees in Libya are 
        forced to work without pay as farm laborers, domestic workers, 
        construction workers, and rubbish collectors;
Whereas beginning in 2017, multiple news and international organizations began 
        reporting on the existence of slave auctions of migrants and refugees in 
        Libya;
Whereas the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report 2017 for Libya 
        stated that migrants held in detention centers controlled by both 
        Libya's Department to Combat Irregular Migration (DCIM) and non-state 
        armed groups are subject to severe abuse, rampant sexual violence, 
        forced labor, and other human rights abuses;
Whereas on February 12, 2018, the United Nations Secretary-General reported to 
        the United Nations Security Council that the humanitarian situation in 
        Libya had recently deteriorated further, and that ``Refugees and 
        migrants continued to be subjected to violence, forced labor, and other 
        grave violations and abuses.'';
Whereas the Presidency Council of the Government of National Accord affirmed the 
        depravity of slavery and human trafficking and initiated an 
        investigation into such acts within Libya;
Whereas a September 2017, report from the United Nations International 
        Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) determined that unaccompanied 
        children who crossed the Mediterranean from Libya suffered enslavement, 
        violence, and sexual abuse at the hands of smugglers and traffickers;
Whereas in November 2017, a joint European Union-African Union-United Nations 
        Task Force was established to protect migrants along migration routes 
        to, from, and in Libya;
Whereas since December 2017, the International Organization for Migration has 
        facilitated the return of more than 15,000 migrants to their homes from 
        Libya through a voluntary humanitarian program, and the United Nations 
        High Commissioner for Refugees has evacuated more than 1,300 refugees 
        from Libya as of March 2018;
Whereas the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya in 2011 led to significant 
        political turmoil and insecurity within the country;
Whereas in December 2017, the Libyan Political Agreement was reaffirmed as the 
        internationally-supported framework for creating a unified Libyan 
        government;
Whereas, despite this agreement, the prolonged and continuing absence of a 
        unified Libyan government has resulted in a power vacuum in which human 
        trafficking and smuggling have emerged as a lucrative trade and funds 
        obtained from the transfer, sale, and exploitation of migrants are used 
        to fund armed militias competing for territory, influence, and control 
        of institutions; and
Whereas the United States has repeatedly condemned slavery, involuntary 
        servitude, and other elements of trafficking as a grave violation of 
        human rights and a matter of pressing international concern: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) strongly condemns slave auctions and the exploitation of 
        migrants and refugees as forced laborers in Libya;
            (2) calls upon all parties to the conflict in Libya, including 
        parties to the Libyan Political Agreement, to--
                    (A) investigate and eradicate slave auctions and forced 
                labor involving migrants and refugees;
                    (B) hold those identified in the investigation accountable 
                in courts of law;
                    (C) manage migration flows and migrant detention centers in 
                a humane manner; and
                    (D) investigate how funds earned through the transfer, sale, 
                and exploitation of migrants are used and the extent to which 
                such profits are fueling and prolonging Libya's civil conflict;
            (3) calls upon the United Nations to--
                    (A) investigate allegations of the slave trade and other 
                forced labor in Libya;
                    (B) advocate that all parties to the conflict in Libya, 
                including parties to the Libyan Political Agreement, allow the 
                United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to regularly 
                monitor and publicly report on the situation of all refugees and 
                migrants in Libya, including those in detention centers; and
                    (C) expand sanctions under United Nations Security Council 
                Resolution 2174 (2014) against individuals and entities 
                responsible for slave auctions and forced labor of migrants and 
                refugees in Libya;
            (4) calls upon the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the 
        United States Agency for International Development to ensure that any 
        strategies, programs, or other efforts to address the political and 
        security situation in Libya appropriately address the vulnerabilities 
        faced by migrants and refugees; and
            (5) urges the Secretary of State to ensure that the country 
        narrative for Libya in the annual Trafficking in Persons Report fully 
        and accurately reflects the scope of trafficking in persons in that 
        country, including any complicity by parties to the Libyan Political 
        Agreement or other governmental entities, as required by section 110 of 
        the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7107).
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.