Scant information is available about the situation of migrants in Libya, a country still in havoc. The US network CNN triggered a wave of condemnation when it aired footage ten days ago of an apparent auction where black men were presented and sold to North African buyers as potential farmhands. Low-resolution images, apparently taken at a market in Libya earlier this year, showed humans auctioned at a slave market for the equivalent of €400.

"When it comes to Turkey, it is mainly refugees from Syria; when it comes to Libya, it is mainly migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa and the relevant international laws apply in different manners and the relevant UN agencies are different - the UNHCR on one side, especially in Turkey, and the IOM especially in Libya."