The human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) has sharply criticized the EU for its support to the Libyan Coast Guard. EU policy contributes to the mistreatment of people in Libya, the organization said in a report released today. Support for the Libyan Coast Guard by the EU, and Italy in particular, has been a significant factor in capturing people and subsequently detaining them in ill-will and ill-treatment.
„Migrants and asylum seekers detained in Libya are trapped in a nightmare,“ said Judith Sunderland, Deputy HRW Director for Europe and Central Asia. Attempts to improve conditions are fig leaves and would not relieve the EU of its responsibility for making the „barbaric system“ possible. Human rights organizations and the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) have repeatedly criticized the terrible and inhumane conditions in the Libyan refugee camps.
The Italian Interior Ministry said that yesterday 393 migrants were taken back to the North African country by the Libyan Coast Guard. They had previously tried to reach Italy. „The cooperation works, the traffickers, traffickers and mafiosi have to understand that their business is over,“ said Interior Minister Matteo Salvini. „Fewer departures, fewer dead, our line does not change.“ Relief organizations, however, do not consider the civil war country Libya as safe and criticize the repatriations.
