The Tripoli based Libyan Interior Ministry reported yesterday that its Acting Minister, Emad Trabelsi, held a meeting on the same day with the Minister of Labour and Rehabilitation, Ali Al-Abed, where they discussed the mechanisms for registering expatriate workers who hold identity documents.
The meeting discussed ensuring the entry of expatriate workers into Libya through legal means by including them in the labour system, in line with the needs of the Libyan labour market and in accordance with the legal procedures and regulations
This, the Ministry reported, would proceed while continuing the voluntary deportation programme of illegal immigrants to their countries of origin, in cooperation and coordination with local and international partners.
Libya is not Europe’s security guard, will not be used as a dumping ground for illegal migrants
It will be recalled that Tripoli based Libyan Prime Minister Abd Alhamid Aldabaiba said, at a Cabinet meeting dedicated to the illegal migration file in March this year, that Libya is not Europe’s security guard, nor will it be used as a dumping ground for illegal migrants from neighbouring states. Aldabaiba stressed that Libya is a transit route who has inherited the problem.
Libya seeking EU support in confronting illegal migration
Libya seeks to oblige the international community to shoulder its responsibilities as it says it will not bear the burden of border control alone, calling on the European Union to provide the necessary support to confront this phenomenon.
Increased voluntary deportations
Aldabaiba has said Libya – its Interior and Labour Ministries – is implementing a plan, adding that embassies must work with the Libyan authorities in processing illegal migrants. He stressed Libya must defend its borders. This plan begins with increasing the rates of voluntary deportation.
An estimated 3 to 3.5 million illegal migrants in Libya
At the same March Cabinet meeting Trabelsi had estimated that there are 3 to 3.5 million illegal migrants in Libya – with hundreds arriving daily. He had reiterated the offer to help Africans – but in their country. He had also called on embassies to accept responsibilities towards their migrants. He said the repatriation costs to Libya of illegal migrants back to their country in Africa are about US$ 1,300 per person plus the cost of 90 days of food.
Need for collective international approach to illegal migration
At a high-level Tripoli ministerial meeting held in Tripoli on 8 July this year, in the presence of several interior ministers and representatives of European and international institutions, to discuss the worsening challenges associated with the phenomenon of irregular migration, Aldabaiba said a collective (international) approach is needed to confront this complex file.
Link between criminal gangs, militias, illegal migration and threat to local and international security
He said Libya is engaged in a real confrontation against gangs and armed groups (militias) that make a living from the migration file and are involved in human smuggling and organized crime, noting that these elements represent a direct threat to local and international security.
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Aldabaiba seeking long term partnership not interim solutions on combatting irregular migration
Libya will not be a home for illegal migrants – we are not Europe’s security guard: Aldabaiba
Aldabaiba seeking long term partnership not interim solutions on combatting irregular migration
