A/HRC/41/38/Add.1 who try to remigrate and a lack of monitoring of the human rights situation of returned migrants. 53. The Special Rapporteur noted that, apart from the humanitarian assistance provided by IOM in the context of its search and rescue operations and the response mechanism and resources for migrants project in the Niger, no support or protection was provided to migrants, most of them in vulnerable situations, who did not wish to sign up for the assisted voluntary return programme. Furthermore, he observed with concern that migrant victims of expulsions, including those who had signed up for the assisted voluntary return programme, were victims of multiple human rights violations, and no assistance was provided to them to ensure their access to justice and remedies, including reparations. In that regard, the Special Rapporteur notes that the Nigerien authorities and ECOWAS member States (e.g., through their consular services in the Niger), with the support of the United Nations and in collaboration with the National Human Rights Commission and civil society organizations, have an important role to play, including in ensuring accountability. 54. Moreover, systematic and in-depth identification of returned migrants who have been victims of or at risk of human rights violations is not carried out by IOM or other actors. Of particular concern, for example, is the lack of systematic screening and assistance to migrants who have been victims of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, despite the high prevalence of such violations, especially in Libya. Systematic identification should be prioritized, among other reasons because, when the need for treatment has been medically certified, victims of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment should not be removed to a State where adequate medical services for their rehabilitation are not available or guaranteed.34 4. Resettlement programmes 55. Despite the hardships facing the Niger due to poverty, limited capacities and security concerns related to neighbouring countries, it has displayed an openness and solidarity in receiving asylum seekers and refugees in need of international protection, setting an example for many other countries and regions around the world that have been taken over by xenophobic and anti-migration discourses and practices. 56. In particular, the Special Rapporteur commends the generosity shown by the Niger in accepting refugees and asylum seekers evacuated from detention centres in Libya, where conditions of detention amount to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. According to UNHCR estimates, there are up to 4,100 persons in one of the accessible Libyan detention centres. In November 2017, UNHCR established the emergency transit mechanism programme to evacuate vulnerable asylum seekers in order to facilitate the processing of refugees held in detention in Libya, and their access to protection and durable solutions. 35 During his visit, the Special Rapporteur had the opportunity to talk to asylum seekers evacuated from Libya and they all reported that refugees and migrants suffered multiple human rights violations – such as killings, arbitrary detention, torture, sexual and gender-based violence and forced labour – along their journeys.36 57. The Special Rapporteur also commends the Niger for allowing and providing space for a humanitarian centre for Sudanese refugees. At the same time, he calls on the international community, especially the European Union and its member States, to assist the Niger in that daunting task, to strengthen the capacities of the Niger in that regard, and 34 35 36 Committee against Torture, general comment No. 4 (2017) on the implementation of article 3 in the context of article 22, para. 22. The Niger has agreed to temporarily expand its asylum space for these refugees. So far 3,175 persons have been evacuated from Libya, 2,491 of them to the Niger. Of these, 1,269 are still in Niamey while 1,212 have already been resettled. See UNHCR, “Libya-Niger situation: resettlement update No. 50”, 25 February 2019. See also OHCHR and UNSMIL, Desperate and Dangerous, p. 25. 13