News: UN Sanctions Top People Smugglers In Libya In Global First

The UN Security Council has imposed sanctions on six leaders of human trafficking networks operating in Libya - the first time traffickers have been put on an international sanctions list.
The blacklisted six are four Libyans, including the head of a regional coast guard unit, and two Eritrean nationals.

Smugglers have taken advantage of insecurity in Libya to move hundreds of thousands of migrants by sea to Europe. Many migrants are trapped in detention centres and beaten by traffickers.

The sanctions - a global travel ban and an assets freeze - were the result of an internationally-backed Dutch proposal. The proposal was initially presented on 1 May but held up by Russia, which sought to examine the evidence against the six men.

 The unprecedented sanctions follow widespread outrage at the end of 2017 after CNN aired footage showing the auctioning of migrant men as slaves in Libya.