On 3 February, the EU-Libya ‘Technical Mission on Rights-based Migration and Border Management’ met in Tripoli, with the participation of EUNAVFORMED Operation Irini, Frontex and EUBAM Libya. Based on continued coordination with UNSMIL, the meeting discussed a number of key priorities, including ways to enhance and/or increase:
• Libya’s capacity to manage its land border nationwide;
• Voluntary returns, including through the new effective national mechanism managed by the Interior Ministry in collaboration with countries of origin;
• Rescue operations at sea and in the desert;
• Cooperation to combat human smuggling and trafficking;
• Protection of vulnerable migrants and refugees.
The EU-Libya delegation also visited the new voluntary returns transit centre and assisted in the handover ceremony of vessels to the Libyan Coastguard and General Administration Coastal Security in the framework of the programme ‘Support to Integrated border and Migration Management’ (SIBMMIL), implemented by the Italian Ministry of the Interior and the International Organization for Migration.
On 4 February, UNSMIL said that the Libyan Joint Technical Coordination Team (JTCT) on Border Security – made up of senior military and police officers from eastern and western Libya – made a series of experience sharing visits to border security operations centres in Ankara between 26-31 January. The visits were jointly facilitated by Turkey and UNSMIL, and included several meetings with relevant departments of the Turkish Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Interior. According to UNSMIL, Turkey’s role as co-chair of the Berlin Security Working Group underscores ‘the international community’s capacity to support Libyan-led efforts in border security and, more broadly, institutional unification to strengthen Libyan and regional security.’
On 8 February, the Government of National Unity’s (GNU) acting Minister of Interior, Emad al-Trabelsi, received the Maltese Ambassador to Libya Franklin Aquilina and his delegation. The meeting focused on ways to enhance joint security cooperation between the two countries, particularly in the areas of training, capacity building, and combating illegal immigration.