Already Complicit in Libya Migrant Abuse, EU Doubles Down on Support
Human Rights WatchFeb 08, 2023
On Monday, UN investigators said there is evidence that crimes against humanity have been committed against Libyans and migrants stranded in Libya, including women being coerced into sexual slavery.
The investigators commissioned by the UN-backed Human Rights Council also accused the European Union (EU) of aiding and abetting rights violations against Libyans and migrants — such as arbitrary detention, murder, torture, rape, enslavement, sexual enslavement, and enforced disappearance — through their continued support to Libyan forces.
The EU is complicit in abusing migrants as member countries, especially Italy, put migrants under the control of the dangerous Libyan coast guard. The EU has abdicated its primary responsibility of search and rescue in the Mediterranean, where thousands of migrants and asylum seekers have died while attempting to reach Europe from North Africa. Instead, the EU aided Libyan armed groups and contributed to systematic abuses in the name of stopping illegal immigration. There is an urgent need for accountability to end this pervasive impunity.
Migrants and Europeans alike suffer from heavy immigration flows from Libya, which is why European countries must stand firm to defend their borders and not fall prey to "woke" policies. A country’s primary obligation is to protect its citizens and ensure its sovereignty, not look after migrants flooding its shores. Italian Prime Minister Meloni’s popularity reflects the will of many Europeans, and other EU leaders should follow her example in putting their citizens first.