Renewal of the Italy-Libya Memorandum of Understanding

On Nov. 2, the 2017 Italy-Libya Memorandum of Understanding on migration cooperation automatically renewed for three more years, despite heavy pushback from various human rights organizations. 

The agreement is between the Italian government and the United Nations (U.N.)-backed Libyan Government of National Unity (GNU), one of two rival authorities competing for control of the country. It is sponsored by the European Union (E.U.) and aims to strengthen Europe’s borders by preventing the arrival of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers via the Mediterranean Sea. The memorandum requires Italy and the E.U. to provide technical and financial support to Libya in order to strengthen its Coast Guard; in return, the Libyan Coast Guard must intercept anyone embarking on trips across the Mediterranean Sea to prevent them from reaching Europe. 

In practice, the memorandum has disastrous effects for migrants, refugees and asylum seekers attempting to cross the Mediterranean. The International Organization on Migration (IOM) defines the Central Mediterranean route, which passes through Libyan waters, as the “world’s deadliest migratory sea crossing” due to its dangerous waters and the scarce number of search and rescue operations. In 2022 alone, 1,417 people departing from Libya died along the route, while an additional 56,515 people were intercepted and returned to Libya. 

Migrants detained and brought to Libya face blatant human rights violations and horrifying conditions in detention centers for indefinite periods of time. The centers are often controlled and managed by unaccountable local non-state actors and armed militia groups, making them almost impossible to effectively monitor. In these centers, migrants are often arbitrarily detained, exploited, abused and even tortured to the point of death. Migrants can face dehumanizing treatment, sexual and physical violence, and forced labor. The living conditions in these detention centers are also extremely degrading. Often overcrowded, migrants are packed into tiny spaces, deprived of food and water, denied access to medical care, as well as the right to legal counsel.

Despite clear evidence of the disturbing abuse faced by migrants and inhumane conditions in these detention centers, the E.U. and Italy continue to support the Libyan Coast Guard in its efforts to detain migrants. The E.U. and Italy have both provided the Libyan Coast Guard with millions of euros dedicated to migration control since 2015, along with vessels and aerial surveillance used across the E.U. border.  

This mistreatment of migrants explicitly violates international human rights law. Although Libya is the state directly committing these atrocities, Italy is complicit and should also be held accountable. According to the International Law Commission and its Draft Articles on State Responsibility, Italy is responsible for Libya’s maritime seizures and human rights violations in detention centers, as Italy “aids or assists” Libya in committing these crimes. 

Under the 1976 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Libya violates Articles 6 and 7, which prohibit subjecting any person to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Article 2 in the 1987 Convention against Torture and Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights also forbid the practice of torture, meaning that Libya infringes upon these statutes as well.

Furthermore, Libya breaches Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court which defines rape, forced prostitution, sexual slavery, forced sterilization, or other acts of sexual violence of that nature, as crimes against humanity. The U.N. has found evidence of collusion between the Libyan Coast Guard and trafficking networks. Thereby demonstrating that Libyan state forces and armed militias have likely committed crimes against humanity including sexual slavery and rape against the migrants brought to Libya.

Libya also violates the Common European Asylum System, which establishes guidelines on the proper procedure for processing asylum seekers and ensures their personal rights are protected, as the Coast Guard is intercepting people at sea and returning them without following the correct processing measures. 

While not perpetrating these crimes or transgressing these international human rights laws directly, Italy can be held accountable for Libya’s illegal actions in the Mediterranean because of its financial backing of the Libyan Coast Guard.

The horrific abuses and violations of human rights by the Italian and Libyan governments have received backlash from various human rights organizations. Human Rights Watch has called for the end of the memorandum between Italy and Libya. Judith Sunderland, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, declared that Italy’s “continued support for abusive, unaccountable forces in Libya is indefensible” and called for the E.U. to stop “financing and legitimizing violence against migrants” and to “fundamentally reorient its Mediterranean policies to prioritize rescue at sea and safe and legal pathways for migration.”

The human rights organization “Refugees in Libya,” founded by migrants who survived abuse in detention centers in Libya, is also mobilizing against the memorandum. They have requested that the E.U. suspend all migration cooperation with Libya.

Despite worldwide condemnation, Italy and the E.U. continue to ignore these blatant human rights violations committed by Libya in the Mediterranean. When asked about their continued support for the Libyan Coast Guard, the European Commission insisted that it would continue to aid and assist the Libyan authorities. This was after an incident on Aug. 24 where a Libyan Coast Guard patrol boat opened fire on an SOS Mediterranee rescue ship. They claimed that “to improve the situation, we need to remain engaged.” The E.U. and Italy consistently choose to protect their own interests in securing their borders by providing Libya with more funding, vessels and aerial surveillance, rather than prioritizing the protection and safety of people whose biggest crime is seeking a better life abroad. 

Libya’s control over the Central Mediterranean route, combined with its own internal political instability and corruption that allows for the mistreatment of migrants to persist unchecked, has made this stretch of sea one of the deadliest migration paths in the world. If allowed to renew, the memorandum will only result in more deaths, more torture, more trafficking. The continued cooperation of Italy and the E.U. with the Libyan Coast Guard only makes it easier for them to commit these heinous violations of human rights. 

To ensure the protection of human rights of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, it is clear that the Italy-Libya Memorandum of Understanding must be revoked. The E.U. prides itself on promoting justice and defending the human rights of those around the world, and yet it continues to work with the Libyan Coast Guard. The E.U. has a moral duty to protect those attempting to cross the Mediterranean, and should therefore no longer promote, fund and enforce an agreement that results in such a blatant violation of human rights.

Photo Source: Tim Luddemann, flickr