Support the work. Respect the leadership.
Support the work. Respect the leadership.
Refugees in Libya was created by people who survived detention, enslavement, trafficking, interception, abandonment and the political systems that made these abuses possible.
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Our work exists because affected communities refused to remain silent, invisible or permanently dependent on institutions that too often speak about refugees while excluding them from decisions concerning their lives.
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Supporting Refugees in Libya means strengthening the ability of refugees and survivors to organise, protect one another, investigate abuses, influence policy and pursue justice on their own terms.
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It does not mean taking ownership of our experiences, speaking in our place or transforming our suffering into institutional visibility.
Why Your Support Matters
The violence confronting refugees and migrants is not limited to detention centres, trafficking networks or dangerous migration routes. It is reinforced by political agreements, border policies, funding arrangements and institutions that prioritise containment over protection.
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European governments continue to cooperate with authorities and armed actors responsible for interceptions, forced returns, arbitrary detention and abuse. African people displaced by war, persecution and economic exploitation are frequently abandoned both by the states through which they travel and by the governments of their countries of origin.
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Meanwhile, organisations led by those directly affected are often expected to document crimes, support communities and contribute to international investigations without receiving the resources, recognition or political protection necessary to sustain that work.
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This is why support is not an act of charity. It is a contribution to a wider struggle for equality, dignity, freedom of movement, the right to seek asylum and accountability for crimes committed against our people.
What Your Support
Makes Possible
Support allows us to maintain emergency communication with people in detention, trafficking situations and conditions of immediate danger.
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It strengthens independent documentation and investigations into detention, forced return, state-supported trafficking, enslavement, sexual violence and other abuses.
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It helps us accompany survivors through legal processes, preserve evidence and contribute to proceedings before national, regional and international courts and accountability mechanisms.
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It sustains advocacy, campaigning, public actions, policy work and the participation of refugee representatives in spaces where migration policies are debated and decided.
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It also allows us to invest in our members—not only as survivors or witnesses, but as investigators, organisers, researchers, legal advocates, writers, communicators and community leaders.
Political Support
From declarations to political action
We call upon political parties across Europe, particularly opposition parties prepared to challenge the policies of their governments, to stand publicly and consistently with refugee-led struggles.
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This support should go beyond statements of sympathy.
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Political representatives can question agreements that finance interceptions and returns to places where people face detention, torture and enslavement. They can demand parliamentary scrutiny, public hearings, independent investigations and transparency regarding cooperation with Libya and other countries used to contain displaced people outside Europe.
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They can raise individual cases, protect threatened human rights defenders, challenge the criminalisation of migration and ensure that refugees themselves are invited to participate in political discussions—not merely as witnesses, but as political actors and experts.
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We do not ask political parties to speak for us. We ask them to use their power and institutional access to open spaces, confront harmful policies and support the demands articulated by affected communities.
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Supporting our work does not imply control over our political positions or independence. Refugees in Libya remains accountable first to the communities from which it emerged.
Institutional Support
African institutions and states
The abuses committed against Black Africans in Libya and along migration routes are not isolated humanitarian tragedies. They concern the dignity, protection and political responsibility of the African continent.
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We call on the African Union and African states to recognise refugee-led organisations as legitimate political and civil-society actors.
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African institutions should investigate the trafficking, enslavement, torture and killing of African people; demand accountability from the authorities and armed groups responsible; strengthen consular protection; and challenge international agreements that expose Africans to foreseeable harm.
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States must not appear only after deaths, mass expulsions or public scandals. They must engage consistently with affected communities, protect their citizens and residents abroad and support survivor-led documentation and justice initiatives.
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Institutional support should provide resources and protection without attempting to absorb, control or rebrand the work of those who lived through these systems.
The United Nations
We call on United Nations bodies and agencies to engage refugee-led organisations as independent partners with their own knowledge, analysis and demands.
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Too often, institutions seek testimonies, evidence and community access while retaining control over the narrative, the resources and the final decisions. The experiences of refugees must not become institutional property.
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Meaningful support means involving affected communities from the beginning of investigations, policy processes and protection responses. It means recognising their intellectual and political contribution, compensating their labour, protecting those who take risks and remaining accountable for how information is used.
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United Nations institutions should support refugee leadership without attempting to replace it.
Support Without Ownership
Our stories, testimonies, images, contacts and evidence are not resources that can be extracted without responsibility.
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Support must be grounded in:
Respect for refugee leadership
Those directly affected must retain authority over their experiences, priorities and representation.
Protection
No person should be exposed to retaliation, surveillance, detention or other risks for the benefit of a campaign, report or institution.
Independence
Funding or institutional recognition must not limit our ability to criticise governments, international organisations or practices that cause harm.
Transparency
Expectations, financial arrangements, data use, public communication and decision-making must be clear.
We welcome support that increases our capacity.
We reject support that diminishes our voice.
Long-term commitment
Our work cannot depend only on temporary attention following tragedies or political scandals.
Reciprocity
Communities whose knowledge makes projects possible must also benefit from their outcomes.
Ways to Support Our Work
Provide financial support
Unrestricted and long-term funding allows us to respond to emergencies, sustain our teams, protect sensitive documentation, support investigations and plan beyond short project cycles.
Strengthen institutional access
Institutions can facilitate meaningful participation in courts, parliaments, policy forums and international mechanisms without controlling our contribution.
Amplify our campaigns
Individuals, movements, media organisations and public figures can share our work, invite us to speak and mobilise their communities around our demands.
Offer political backing
Political representatives can raise parliamentary questions, request investigations, challenge harmful agreements and create spaces for direct refugee participation.
Protect human rights defenders
Support may include emergency relocation, legal protection, security assistance, psychosocial care and public intervention when members face threats.
Sustain community-led justice
Legal practitioners, researchers and accountability institutions can support survivor-led investigations, evidence preservation and strategic litigation.
Who We Are Calling On
We invite support from individuals, communities, movements, trade unions, foundations, ethical funders, political parties, parliamentary groups, African states, the African Union, United Nations bodies and other institutions prepared to respect our independence and refugee-led identity.
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We are not looking for institutions to adopt our struggle as their own.
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We are asking them to recognise their responsibilities, contribute their resources and stand beside those already carrying the work.
Stand With Us
Refugees in Libya exists because people who were expected only to survive chose instead to organise, investigate, resist and demand justice.
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The struggle ahead requires resources, political courage, institutional accountability and sustained solidarity.
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Support our work without speaking over us.
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Strengthen the movement without claiming ownership of it.
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Stand with us as we build justice, protection and freedom together.
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