By Jamie Prentis.
Tunis, 2 February 2017:
The EU must put the safety and dignity of migrants at the forefront of any migration deal it signs with Libya, Human Rights Watch said today.
HRW said that its greatest concern was the possibility that the EU would consider sending migrants back to Libya. It claims to have seen a document in which Malta, which currently holds the EU presidency, wants to examine any barriers in international law to returning migrants to Libya.
“EU efforts to stop the boats from Libya boil down to outsourcing responsibly to one party in a country riven by conflict and where migrants face horrific abuse,” said Judith Sunderland, HRW’s associate director for Europe and Central Asia.
“What the EU wants to call a ‘line of protection’ could in reality be an ever-deeper line of cruelty in the sand at sea,” she added.
HRW insists international law prevents countries sending anyone back to a place where they are at risk of serious harm and this included Libya.
Sunderland said that whilst the EU “aspires” to Libya being stable it cannot wash its hands of the reality that the country is unsafe simply by funding training programmes.
EU leaders are due in Malta on Friday to talk over plans to stop migration across the Mediterranean from Libya. They will also look at giving the Government of National Accord increased funding and training to boost the control and security of its borders.
