According to the recently launched 2016 Humanitarian Response Plan for Libya, 100,000 refugees/asylum-seekers of whom over 36,400 are presently registered with UNHCR. Refugees originate from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Palestine, Sudan and Syria. IOM estimates that there are 250,000 migrant workers in Libya, of whom some 50,000 are considered vulnerable. An inter-agency assessment issued in July 2015 found that refugees are the most vulnerable of all affected population groups in Libya, as they are more likely to have been displaced several times, to live in more vulnerable shelter types and to have been exposed to threats, intimidation, harassment, physical assault or violence. In reported cases of violence, a third of victims were women (compared to 20 per cent for IDPs and migrants), and a quarter were children, indicating further protection concerns for these groups. One in six refugees reported having been exposed to physical assault, and other common forms of violence against refugees include threats, intimidation and harassment, sexual harassment or abuse and theft or destruction of property. Refugees from sub-Saharan Africa face additional difficulties related to widespread xenophobia and discrimination. The scale of population movements by sea from Libya grew exponentially in 2014 and 2015, as unprecedented numbers of individuals, including many who had lived in Libya for many years, took to the seas. In 2015, 127,500 people departed from Libya to Italy, representing 83 per cent of total arrivals by sea in the European country. Furthermore, in 2015, around 7,500 people were rescued or intercepted off the coast of Libya, the majority from sub-Saharan Africa. Libya has ratified the 1969 Organization of African Union Convention. However, the country has yet to enact national legislation to provide the basis for a functioning asylum system. As a result, refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants entering Libyan territory without appropriate documentation, including those disembarked following rescue or interception at sea, are penalized for irregular entry and placed in detention centres/holding facilities run by the Department for Combatting Illegal Migration (DCIM). These centers have generally not met minimum standards of detention, and conditions have deteriorated further due to the conflict and economic crisis in the country. In 2015, UNHCR observed considerable fluctuations in the population of the eight out of a total 18 centres currently operational where the Office currently has access through its partner, International Medical Corps (IMC).
