Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports his Department has received on slavery and abuse of migrants in Libya; and whether he has raised the subject of those reports with the Libyan Government.

The UK is determined to eliminate the scourge of forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking. The Government works closely with the Libyan Government and takes all allegations of abuse seriously. During his visit to Libya in August the Foreign Secretary raised with Prime Minister Serraj the importance of offering humanitarian support to migrants and the need to respect human rights. I also raised our concerns about the human rights situation in Libya, including the issue of slavery, with the Libyan Deputy Prime Minister on 1 December and welcomed the investigation into this issue. Her Majesty’s Ambassador has further underlined our concerns about these reports in our recent discussions with the Libyan Government, and will continue to monitor the situation closely.