EU plans to continue cooperation with Libya on migrants, despite criticism

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A confidential European Union report has called for continued support for the Libyan coastguard and navy, despite concerns over the treatment of migrants.

A report distributed to EU officials and seen by The Associated Press (AP) shows that Europe is determined to continue supporting Libyan authorities to intercept and return migrants to Libya.

This despite a number of admissions in the report, including an acknowledgment that Libyan authorities are known to have used “excessive force” against migrants.

Compiled by the head of Operation Irini, the EU mission charged with enforcing an arms embargo against Libya, the report says excessive force was used by a Libyan patrol which intercepted a boat in wood carrying around 20 migrants on September 15 last year. Such tactics were “never seen before and not in line with (EU) training…as well as international regulations”, it says.

The EU report also says that the political stalemate and internal divisions in Libya make it difficult to apply “appropriate standards of behavior… consistent with human rights, particularly when dealing with migrants in irregular situation,” according to AP.

The European Commission and the European External Action Service would not comment on the report, the news agency said. But spokesman Peter Stano said the EU training program “remains firm on the table to increase the capacity of Libyan authorities to save lives at sea”.

Migrants picked up at sea by the Libyan Coast Guard in Khoms, about 120 kilometers east of Tripoli | Photo: AP Photo/Hazem Ahmed, FileRising reviews

In recent months, criticism of Europe’s migration policies has multiplied, particularly with regard to Libya. A number of organizations have filed petitions with the International Criminal Court asking that Libyan and European officials, as well as traffickers, militias and others, be investigated for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity.

A UN investigation released in October also found evidence that abuses in Libya could amount to crimes against humanity.

AP notes that last month the Libyan government appointed Mohammed Al-Khoja, a militia leader implicated in abuses against migrants, to head the Department for Combating Irregular Migration, which oversees detention centers.

Özlem Demirel, a member of the German Left Party in the European Parliament, said the report was “further proof that there should be no cooperation with this force”.

“The fact that Irini is even looking for further training is, in my opinion, outrageous,” Demirel said.

Violent tactics

The violent tactics used by Libyan authorities at sea have been widely documented for years. Last week, the crew of the voluntary rescue vessel Louise Michel reported seeing a Libyan patrol boat “shoot a person who had jumped into the water”.

Today @alarm_phone alerted us to a boat in distress two hours from our location. When we arrived, we saw the so-called Libyan Coast Guard intercept the boat and shoot a person who had jumped in the water. It is not known if the person was hit. [1/3] pic.twitter.com/4lwfmRh9k2

— LouiseMichel (@MVLouiseMichel) January 19, 2022

About €455 million has been allocated to Libya since 2015 through the EU Trust Fund for Africa. Large amounts of money have been used to fund migration and border management.

Substantial amounts of EU funds have been used to train Libyan Coast Guard personnel and refurbish boats. The Coast Guard also received satellite phones and uniforms and is to receive three new patrol boats over the next two years, according to AP.

Operation Irini vessels deployed off the east coast of Libya. File photo from May 2, 2017 | Photo: picture-alliance/German Ministry of Defense

Libyan authorities also depend on surveillance gathered and shared by European drones, planes and radars to intercept small boats in the Mediterranean.

A 2019 AP investigation found that large sums of EU money had been diverted to networks of militias and traffickers who exploit and abuse migrants. Some members of the coast guard are also complicit, according to AP, in sending migrants intercepted at sea to detention centers under agreements with militias, or demanding gratuities to let others go.

With Associated Press

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