Amnesty slams EU migration co-operation with ‘racist’ Libya

An Amnesty International banner. (AP / Ivan Sekretarev)

Amnesty International on Tuesday condemned a European Union move to increase co-operation with Libya to stem migration despite an intensifying crackdown on migrants in the country.

Libya is one of the main North African departure points for migrants risking the perilous journey across the Mediterranean sea to reach Europe.

Amnesty said both the United Nations-recognized government and its rival eastern-based administration have been carrying out crackdowns on migrants and fuelling anti-migrant sentiment with “xenophobic and racist statements”.

“The European Union is seeking to expand its migration co-operation with rival Libyan authorities and allied armed groups just as they have been escalating their campaign of racially discriminatory mass arrests, arbitrary detention, and unlawful collective expulsions of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants supported by xenophobic discourse,” the U.K.-based rights group said.

Since the death of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 following a NATO-backed uprising, Libya has been riven by divisions and instability.

It is divided between the government based in the capital Tripoli and an eastern administration backed by military commander Khalifa Haftar.

The situation has fostered human trafficking and abuses against migrants, who have fallen victim in particular to extortion and slavery, according to the UN and international NGOs.

According to Amnesty, the EU is seeking to set up a Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in eastern Benghazi.

Amnesty’s deputy regional director Diana Eltahawy said the bloc was already “complicit in horrific violations and abuses” due to its financial support for the Libyan coast guard, which regularly intercepts migrant vessels.

“Extending this cooperation to eastern-based armed groups with records of committing war crimes and other abuses with impunity shows a shocking disregard, not only for international law, but also for human life and dignity,” she said.

Eltahawy called on the EU and its member states to “suspend their containment policies that trap people in cycles of abuse”.

Migration has sparked anger among Libyans. Earlier in June, hundreds of people gathered outside the UN refugee agency headquarters in Tripoli to protest against irregular migrants and refugees whom they say should leave Libya.

As of mid-2024, the International Organization for Migration estimated that around 900,000 migrants and refugees were living in Libya.