The Council of Europe has urged Italy to suspend its cooperation with the Libyan coast guard, saying that migrants who are picked up at sea and returned to Libya face serious human rights violations in its wretched detention centers.
Dunja Mijatovic, the council’s human rights commissioner, acknowledged through a letter dated February 13, that Italy had proposed new terms to a 2017 migration agreement with Libya that contain more provisions to guarantee migrants’ rights are respected.
“The 2017 Memorandum of Understanding between Italy and Libya’s Government of National Accord, which was automatically renewed on 2 February 2020, plays a central role in the facilitation of interceptions of migrants and asylum seekers at sea”
“On 31 January 2020 I publicly expressed my regret that the Italian government had not cancelled that agreement or at least changed its terms to ensure the appropriate protection of human rights”
“But given there is no indication if or when those provisions will be implemented, Italy should suspend its support of the Libyan coast guard altogether,” Mijatovic wrote.
In his response, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio acknowledged “there is room for improvement” to the 2017 accord. But he insisted that Italy’s engagement with the Libyan authorities had saved lives, with the number of deaths along the central Mediterranean route falling from an estimated 2,853 in 2017 to 743 last year.
“The figures as such tell us that we have to keep working along this direction, rather than disengaging from the country. Hence, our overall objective is to guarantee better protection to migrants and asylum seekers in Libya,” he wrote.
Italy for years has been criticized internationally for its support of the Libyan coast guard, which has involved the provision of patrol boats and training of its crews. Human rights groups have documented widespread abuses in Libyan detention camps where returning migrants are taken, including torture and rape.
