The United Nations’ migration agency, IOM, is calling on social
media giants to do more to crack down on people smugglers using their platforms
to lure West African migrants to Libya.
International Organisation for
Migration (IOM) spokesman Leonard Doyle said smugglers often
use Facebook to make illicit deals to take would-be migrants to Libya, where
they face the possibility of detention, torture and slavery.
He said young West Africans are especially vulnerable to being
lured by smugglers, who often attract them with “false promises” of jobs
in Europe.
“We think it’s time for
some grown-up responsibility by the social media companies writ-large for their
platforms, which are clearly having a very detrimental role on young vulnerable
populations across West Africa,” Mr Doyle said.
“We ... ask social media companies to step up and behave in a
responsible way when people are being lured to deaths, to their torture.”
It comes as the UN appealed on Monday to countries worldwide to
take in 1,300 mainly African refugees stranded in Libya. Many, it said, have
suffered mistreatment, while being kept in appalling conditions in
detention.
Hundreds of thousands of migrants have attempted to make the
treacherous journey across the Mediterranean to Europe since 2014, with as many
as 3,091 dying en route. Many of those died after passing through Libya.
A recent
investigation by CNN revealed images appearing to show migrants
being auctioned off as slaves by Libyan traffickers. The broadcaster was told
of auctions at nine locations across Libya, but many more are believed to take
place each month.
Libya has long struggled to cope with the major influx of
migrants from sub-Saharan Africa. The UN estimates there are between 700,000
and one million migrants in the country.
Europol’s Migrant Smuggling Centre estimates that 90 per cent of
migrants arriving in EU countries have had their journey facilitated by a
criminal organisation while the IOM says people smuggling now represents the
third-largest business for international criminals.
It estimates that people smugglers make a total of roughly $35bn
(£27bn) a year worldwide.
The IOM has been in ongoing talks with social media providers
about its concerns over their role in the people smuggling market, but Mr Doyle
said so far the talks have been “to very little effect”.
“What they say is, ‘please tell us the pages and we will shut
them down’ ... It is not our job to police Facebook’s pages. Facebook should
police its own pages,” Mr Doyle said.
A spokesperson from Facebook told The Independent they could not
offer an immediate comment on the IOM’s statements.
They said people smuggling is illegal and that posts, pages or
groups that coordinate such activity are not allowed on Facebook.
The social media giant also said it continues to urge Facebook
users to use its reporting tools to flag any content that they suspect may be
illegal or violate the site’s Community Standards.
The company recently announced that it would be hiring an
additional 3,000 people as part of its Community Operations team to help
strengthen the social media site’s ability to quickly review and remove
reported content in violation of its standards.
Mr Doyle said WhatsApp is also used by some people smugglers and
that in cases where migrants are tortured, video is sometimes sent back to the
victims’ families over WhatsApp as a means of extortion.
WhatsApp, which was developed by Facebook, uses encryption to
prohibit third parties from snooping on conversations.
However, the IOM says that feature also makes the messaging app
ideal for illicit activities like people smuggling.
WhatsApp did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
The IOM spokesman called on social media firms to adopt a more
“civic-minded” approach, noting how Google uses pop-up windows to warn users of
potential danger or criminality whenever they look at pornography online.
Dr Paolo Campana, an expert in criminal networks at Cambridge
says the people smuggling market is “very competitive”, so smugglers must go
out of their way to attract would-be migrants.
They use social media sites like Facebook to share information
and even “post pictures of themselves, of successful crossings, of their boats”
as a way to “build trust and credibility”.
But Mr Campana maintains that while social media sites are an
effective tool for people smugglers, making deals through word-of-mouth is far
more common.
The IOM has helped 13,000 migrants return voluntarily to
Nigeria, Guinea and other countries from Libya this year, covering their
transport and pocket money fees. Mr Doyle said the organisation is also in the
process of repatriating 4,000 migrants to Niger.
Culled from: Independent
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