A group of experts from the United Nations Organization (UN) determined that the European Union reportedly “aided and abetted” the commission of crimes against humanity against migrants in Libya, which included attempted rape, murder and torture.
The finding is part of a report prepared by a mission created within the framework of the UN Commission on Human Rights. Its purpose is to investigate human rights violations in the North African country that has been submerged in political chaos since 2011 and has become the ideal bridge to Europe for migrants.
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The complaint of the UN mission against the EU
Based on a hundred testimonies, the experts found that there are “reasonable grounds” to conclude that crimes against Libyans and immigrants were “generalized.” The complicity of the EU, meanwhile, has to do with the sending support to Libyan forces to contain migrants and prevent them from reaching Europe.
“The support provided by the EU to the Libyan coast guard in terms of pushbacks and interceptions led to violations of certain human rights,” said researcher Chaloka Beyani. “You can’t push people back into areas that are not safe,” he added.
Although the EU disassociated itself from the matter after the report was released last Monday, it still supports a project with a budget of 800 million euros whose purpose is to curb illegal immigration. This implies the financing y Equipment supply, the training a armed groups and the delivery of patrolmen to the Libyan coast guard.
“We are not saying that the EU and its member states have committed these crimes. The point is that the support provided has aided and abetted the commission of the crimes”Beyani explained.
This policy, the mission experts indicated, “contributed” to human rights violations in Libya, where they also affect the democratic transition through the intimidation of activists and secret prisons allegedly run by rebel militias.
The EU response
The person in charge of responding to the “serious” accusations was Peter Stano, spokesman for the European Commission (the executive arm of the EU). In a press conference, he assured that the EU does not finance the coast guard or “any entity in Libya”, and that the assistance sent had to do with “improving their performance.
He also explained that the money sent to the North African country usually goes through different instances of use, which include the UN. In addition, Stano indicated that the assistance is aimed at search and rescue with “a focus exactly on human rights.”
“We are not financing any Libyan entity. We are not giving physical money to partners in Libya.”he said, adding: “Our joint goal is to help improve the situation of people trapped in Libya. Of course, there are incidents. There are issues that are of concern. We try to address them with partners in Libya, with international partners “.
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The UN report on Libya
Libya has been mired in political conflict since the 2011 revolt that culminated in the dictator’s rule Muammar El Annualfi. Since then, armed militias have been fighting for power in the country divided between an interim government in Tripoli (in the west) and another in the east backed by military leader Khalifa Haftar.
This context of generalized violence forced thousands of people to flee the country towards Europe. The UN Human Rights Council, for its part, established the fact-finding mission in 2020 to Libya to investigate human rights violations and abuses starting in 2016. It intends to share its final findings with the International Criminal Court.
Among other findings, which will be shared with the International Criminal Court, it is highlighted that the abuses they had discovered included bondage and sexual slavery committed against immigrants and Libyans.
“We have found cases of enslavement of people who have been sold to outside entities to perform various services, but also sexual enslavement of women in and around detention centers,” said mission member Tracy Robinson.
On the other hand, the head of the mission, Mohamed Auajjar, indicated that almost all the survivors interviewed did not present official complaints for fear of reprisals and lack of confidence in the justice system. “There is an urgent need for accountability to end this widespread impunity,” he stressed.
In addition, he said that Libyans and immigrants hoped that the world would pay attention to the violations in the country and called on the Libyan authorities to repair human rights violations and give justice to the victims. “They are waiting for the end of this nightmare,” she stated.
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