Three migrant-focused organizations have released a publication titled The Book of Shame, documenting failures by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in protecting refugees across Libya, Tunisia, and Niger. Compiled and written by refugees and refugee-led groups, the book features firsthand accounts collected between April 2024 and September 2025 from detention centers in Libya, desert camps in Niger, and protest sites in Tunisia.
The book builds on the UNFAIR campaign, which included a 100-day sit-in outside UNHCR’s Tripoli office in 2022. It accuses the agency of aligning with European containment policies, silencing refugee voices, and suppressing protest movements across North Africa. One chapter details alleged UNHCR involvement in cross-border refugee smuggling.
UNHCR Responds: Acknowledging Frustrations, Calling for Sustainable Solutions
In comments to Mohager News, UNHCR confirmed awareness of the book’s release, noting that its authors had not contacted the agency beforehand. A spokesperson expressed understanding of the frustrations voiced by refugees and activists, emphasizing that UNHCR is a rights-based humanitarian organization committed to supporting displaced people in Libya, Tunisia, and Niger, where they face protection risks, human rights violations, and severe shortages in basic services.
The agency reiterated its ongoing advocacy with local authorities to ensure access to asylum and protection, and urged donor governments to increase support and resettlement opportunities for the most vulnerable. The UNHCR also called for the release of detained refugees, an end to forced returns, and the implementation of sustainable solutions, such as evacuation flights from Libya and expanded access to essential services, including shelter, water, sanitation, education, healthcare, child protection, and financial assistance for basic needs.
Field Testimonies: Libya, Tunisia, Niger
In Libya, migrants report being held in both official and informal detention centers, facing torture, extortion, and abuse. Amara Sidi Bé, a migrant from Côte d’Ivoire, described his ordeal in an unofficial facility in Warshafana, west of Tripoli. “The center was like a box, no exits, doors locked. There was a hole in the ceiling. Libyans forced us to climb to the roof using ladders, tied ropes around our bodies, and lowered us one by one through the opening. I think the drop was about seven meters. One man fell and broke both legs. There was no doctor.”
In Tunisia, migrants have faced official and popular crackdowns, especially after President Kais Saied’s February 2023 speech describing sub-Saharan migration as a “conspiracy.” Many were evicted from homes, abandoned in desert border zones with Libya and Algeria, and left stranded. Makeshift camps near Sfax have been repeatedly dismantled by local authorities.
In Niger, thousands of African migrants regularly cross the vast desert, hoping to reach Libya or Algeria and eventually Europe. Many die en route abandoned by smugglers or stranded due to vehicle breakdowns. Algerian authorities have also expelled migrants, leaving them lost in the desert.
Desert Deaths
Aziz Chiho, coordinator of the NGO Desert Phone Alert, told AFP that according to the group’s documentation, between 35 and 40 migrants died between January and August while attempting to cross the desert toward Libya and Algeria.
