EU Lawmakers Question Cooperation with Libya Over Human Rights Violations
The recent findings concerning human rights abuses in Libya have raised significant concerns regarding Brussels’ funding and cooperation with the North African nation. This scrutiny arrives ahead of scheduled meetings between EU officials and competing east- and west-Libyan delegations in Warsaw and Brussels this week, reports 24brussels.
A group of EU lawmakers is urging the European Commission to entirely sever its partnership with Tripoli. In a letter addressed to the commissioners responsible for migration and the Mediterranean, the MEPs highlight “gross human rights violations including human trafficking, forced labor, starvation, sexual violence and torture” perpetrated by Libyan authorities.
The letter asserts that EU support has “emboldened [the Libyan Coast Guard] to commit further abuses” and calls for an immediate cessation of EU funding for Libyan security forces. Instead, they advocate redirecting resources towards civil society and U.N. actors.
This appeal follows a joint plea from various NGOs last month urging Brussels to suspend ties after a series of maritime attacks. EU officials have defended their cooperation with Libyan authorities as “necessary” for saving lives at sea and have dismissed calls to terminate engagement with the North African country.
Libya, a crucial transit point for migrants from Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia, has experienced political fragmentation since the fall of Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. The country is predominantly governed by two factions: a U.N.-recognized government in Tripoli, located in western Libya, and a separate, Russia-aligned government based in Benghazi in the east.
