Accusations of violent interceptions and human rights violations levelled at EU-funded Libyan services by NGOs
More than a dozen NGO rescue vessels operating in the Mediterranean have suspended communication with the Libyan coastguard, citing escalating incidents of asylum seekers being violently intercepted at sea and taken to camps rife with torture, rape and forced labour.
The 13 search-and-rescue organisations described their decision as a rejection of mounting pressure by the EU, and Italy in particular, to share information with the Libyan coastguard, which receives training, equipment and funding from the EU.
In an effort to reduce the number of people arriving in Europe, the EU has long faced accusations of ignoring widespread abuse and systematic human rights violations against people in Libya.
In 2021, a UN investigation found that migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees in Libya were subjected to a “litany of abuses” in detention centres and at the hands of traffickers, with one member of the mission noting that the findings were “suggestive of crimes against humanity”.
