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

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 644

  Strongly condemning the slave auctions of migrants and refugees in 
                     Libya, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 4, 2017

   Ms. Bass (for herself, Mr. Engel, Mr. Poe of Texas, Ms. Lee, Mr. 
    Richmond, Mr. Payne, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Mr. 
  Hastings, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Clyburn, Ms. Norton, Ms. Eddie 
Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. Blumenauer, 
 Mr. McGovern, Mr. Clay, Mr. Cleaver, Ms. Moore, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Carson 
    of Indiana, Ms. Fudge, Ms. Sewell of Alabama, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. 
 Jeffries, Mr. O'Rourke, Mr. Pocan, Mr. Veasey, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, 
 Ms. Plaskett, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Blunt Rochester, Mrs. Demings, 
 Mr. Espaillat, Mrs. Lawrence, Mrs. Love, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Doggett, Mr. 
 Rush, Mr. Pallone, and Ms. Adams) submitted the following resolution; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Strongly condemning the slave auctions of migrants and refugees in 
                     Libya, and for other purposes.

Whereas on, November 14, 2017, a Cable News Network (CNN) investigation 
        uncovered slave auctions of migrants and refugees in Libya;
Whereas in April 2017, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) 
        gathered evidence and issued a warning about slave markets in Libya;
Whereas in December 2016, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for 
        Human Rights (OHCHR) reported that many migrants in Libya are forced to 
        work for no pay on farms, as domestic workers, construction and road 
        paving workers, and rubbish collectors, including by or for guards 
        working in detention centers run by Libya's Department for Combatting 
        Illegal Migration (DCIM);
Whereas Libya is a primary transit hub for migrants and refugees attempting to 
        reach Southern Europe by sea and the United Nations estimates that there 
        are now between 700,000 and one million migrants and refugees in the 
        country;
Whereas human smuggling and trafficking has become a lucrative trade as a result 
        of the power vacuum in Libya after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011;
Whereas OHCHR reported that DCIM guards torture, sexually assault, and otherwise 
        abuse detainees, there is no refugee registration process or legal 
        procedures to challenge detention, and conditions are generally 
        inhumane--including severe overcrowding and inadequate access to 
        toilets, washing facilities, food, and clean water;
Whereas the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) 
        reported that unaccompanied children who crossed the Mediterranean 
        suffered enslavement, violence, and sexual abuse at the hands of 
        smugglers and traffickers;
Whereas UNICEF reported not all migrants and refugees are held in centers run by 
        DCIM and that some are held in unofficial camps run by armed groups;
Whereas Libya's weak central government and continuing political turmoil is a 
        contributing factor for the insecurity in the country and it has been 
        reported that the Government of National Accord does not control the 
        entire country;
Whereas poverty and insecurity are the key drivers of migration in the sub-
        Saharan countries from which many of the migrants originate; and
Whereas slavery has no place in the world: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) strongly condemns slave auctions of migrants and 
        refugees in Libya;
            (2) calls upon the Government of Libya to--
                    (A) conduct an immediate investigation into the 
                existence of slave auctions and forced labor involving 
                migrants and refugees;
                    (B) hold smugglers, traffickers, detention center 
                guards, and anyone else involved accountable;
                    (C) manage migration flows in a humane manner;
                    (D) urgently end the violent and inhumane 
                conditions of official migrant detention centers and 
                generally manage migration flows in a humane manner; 
                and
                    (E) swiftly register asylum seekers and fairly 
                process their refugee claims and do not detain them;
            (3) calls upon the United Nations to--
                    (A) investigate allegations of the slave trade and 
                other forced labor in Libya;
                    (B) encourage Libya to 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 detained in 
                official detention centers; and
                    (C) impose sanctions against Libya if the country 
                fails to end slave auctions and other forms of forced 
                labor;
            (4) calls upon the African Union to--
                    (A) conduct its own investigation into slave 
                auctions of African refugees and migrants in Libya;
                    (B) work to assist migrants in Libya who genuinely 
                wish to return home; and
                    (C) impose sanctions against Libya if the slave 
                auctions and other forms of forced labor do not end;
            (5) calls upon the Secretary of State and the Administrator 
        of the United States Agency for International Development to 
        use funds authorized and appropriated for--
                    (A) provision of humanitarian assistance to 
                migrants and refugees in detention centers in Libya; 
                and
                    (B) the development of a holistic strategy for 
                Libya to address the political and security situation 
                that includes issues related to migrants and refugees 
                in detention centers; and
            (6) calls upon the President to ensure the Department of 
        State and the United States Agency for International 
        Development are adequately staffed to monitor and develop 
        strategies to rapidly respond to the migrant and refugee 
        situation in Libya.
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