Thirty-eight European Parliament lawmakers from four political groups have urged the European Commission to end all funding for Libyan security forces. Mounting evidence shows EU-backed Libyan authorities have committed severe human rights abuses, including human trafficking, forced labor, starvation, sexual violence, and torture. Despite this, EU payments continue.
Mediterranean “line of death”
Irene Dea, from the Ivory Coast, was sailing off the coast of Italy when the Libyan Coast Guard captured her boat and imprisoned her in a detention center in Tripoli. Subsequently, Dea spent 6 months in the facility where she says she saw women sexually abused.
France 24 reported:
“Last week, the Alarm Phone charity, which runs a hotline for migrants stranded in the Mediterranean, reported a fatal shooting at a boat it said was carrying 113 migrants southeast of Malta. Italy’s coastguard also said migrants it subsequently rescued said they had been shot at.”
One Italian activist described a boundary in the central Mediterranean known as “the line of death.” Sadly, reports of Libya’s coast guard shooting at boats carrying migrants in the Mediterranean have only been increasing. And just a few months ago an Italian journalist captured Libyan militias horrifically dumping migrants into the Mediterranean.
A new leaf or Libyan lies?
In response to the recent violence, representatives of the governing bodies in Libya agreed to act with “respect for human rights” However, alarm bells were set ringing due to a report documenting 60 violent maritime incidents provoked by the Libyan Coast Guard and other Libyan actors. Thus, many remain unconvinced by the new rhetoric. Now in a letter to the European Commission, European lawmakers are calling on the EU to end support for the various Libyan security forces.
Euronews reports the letter states:
“This continued cooperation is a flagrant misuse of EU funds, runs contrary to the European acquis, and furthermore endangers the fragile Libyan peace process, increases instability at the EU’s maritime border, and undermines the EU’s credibility as a foreign policy actor”
Nearly 40 members of the European Parliament from four political groups have joined the call. They are demanding a halt to all forms of support for Libyan forces. That includes material, technical, and training support worth hundreds of millions of euros. To date, the European Commission has dismissed calls for change. In fact, they’ve actually doubled down. “This is what we have been doing, and we keep on doing at different level, and this is our policy for now,” a spokesperson said.
Enough is enough- funding of abuse must end
For too long the Libyan coast guard has been getting away with abuses against migrants, including detention, torture, and forced labor. Even with well documented violations, the EU has continued to fund and train Libyan authorities. They claim it’s a key part of their migration deterrence strategy. But it’s time for Europe to stop ignoring what is written in black and white. When migrants are being violently dumped into the sea, it should signal game over.
Italy is set to renew its deadly bilateral migration agreement with Libya on November 2, 2025. Join us in calling on Italy to end its agreements with Libya and take meaningful action to ensure that migration policies uphold, rather than undermine, human dignity.
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