Migration in Libya: From transit route to containment

Dr Katie Kuschminder, UNU-MERIT

African and Middle Eastern migration flows to Libya and the country’s posture toward these migrants have changed dramatically since the 2011 fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi. While Libya once was a destination for foreign workers drawn by a strong economy, post-civil war, migrants have used the country as a transit point to set off for Europe—though as European borders have hardened since the 2015-16 migration crisis, many have been stranded and contained in Libya through the EU's external action policies. At present, a human rights crisis is enduring in Libya for migrants. This presentation will contextualize the changing situation in Libya for migrants from 2011 to the present. The presentation is informed by original interviews conducted with Nigerian and Eritrean migrants that travelled through Libya from 2014-2016 and will demonstrate the different situations faced by migrants in Libya.



About the speaker
Dr. Katie Kuschminder is an Assistant Professor at UNU-MERIT / Maastricht University. Katie's main research interests are in the areas of return and reintegration, irregular migrants journeys and migration governance. Katie has led migration projects for the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, German Development Cooperation, ILO, IOM, NWO and WODC. Currently, she is a Work-Package Lead on the H2020 Admigov project. In 2016 she was awarded a Rubicon Grant from the NWO and completed a two-year fellowship at the European University Institute.

Katie teaches in the MSc in Public Policy and Human Development, the Migration Management Diploma Programme, and coordinates the Migration Studies course at the University College Maastricht. She is the Understanding Cultures Global Challenges Working Group Representative to the World Universities Network (WUN) for Maastricht University.