On 17 July, Amnesty International said that ‘31 civil society organisations call on EU institutions and member states to urgently end their shameful cooperation with Libyan authorities on migration control.’ It said that plans to strengthen cooperation with rival authorities in eastern and western Libya, against the backdrop of long-standing widespread and systematic human rights abuses by both sets of actors against refugees, asylum seekers and migrants with impunity, and in light of repeated attacks by Libyan forces against Search and Rescue (SAR) NGOs in the Mediterranean Sea, are alarming. Libya Crimes Watch is among the signatory organisations.
The civil society groups say they are profoundly concerned that ongoing EU cooperation with Libyan authorities on migration control, despite serious abuses continuing with impunity, fly in the face of the EU’s international obligations to respect and protect human rights. They called on the European Commission and EU States to review their approach and urgently change course to avoid further complicity human rights violations in Libya.