After the emergence of video clips showing officials shooting at a boat of migrant families in the Mediterranean, fighting death to reach a life in safety, but they were caught, prosecutors in Sicily launched an investigation against the Libyan Coast Guard, despite the fact that there are agreements with Libya for the absence of illegal immigration. Moreover, rescue workers from the German organization Sea-Watch recorded that the Libyan coast guard ship came dangerously close to the small wooden boat and apparently fired shots in an attempt to force 64 people back to Libya, we find why this is a people looking for a life with its safety in Europe.
Thousands of people come from Niger, Chad and other Africa in search of a job opportunity in Libya and after they plunge into the war and then think about emigrating to Italy, and the easiest solution for them is illegal immigration through the middle of the Mediterranean, that is, Libya, Algeria and Tunisia, which is the main entry route for migrants from North Africa.
The Italian authorities have announced that they have received about 9,000 migrants from Libyan soil since the beginning of this year.
“Since the beginning of this year, we have arrived 8,987 migrants from Libyan territory, compared to 13,358 during the last five months” in 2020. As for 2020, the total number of migrants returned to their countries of origin reached 3,607 people, and Ali Despite the current year, 1,277 people have been repatriated to their countries of origin, as of the 9th of this month. With regard to the deportation of Tunisian immigrants, 2016 repatriations were carried out in 2020, of which 1,831 were by flights. This resulted in a loss of life due to the drowning of migrants.
The Libyan navy announced the rescue of 172 African migrants north of the city of Zawiya, in the west of the country, who were on their way to Europe on a rubber boat.
But now, prosecutors in Agrigento have decided to investigate Libyan officials for “attempting to sink a ship” and will look into whether the accident endangers the lives of the migrants. The goal in the previous period was to blackmail Italy and pass illegal immigrants to take money from merchants.
For the first time, Europe launched an investigation against the Libyan Coast Guard, who faced numerous accusations of alleged complicity with people smugglers and mistreatment of asylum seekers. These are what are called “death boats” plying the waters of the Mediterranean from Libya, hoping to cross towards the northern bank and enter Europe, human chains of illegal immigrants of different nationalities, who share the dream of reaching Europe.
Libyan human rights committee: They are not bound by the Italy and Sarraj agreement on immigration, the Italian government’s special envoy to Libya, Ambassador Pasquale Ferrara, called for a review of the migration agreements concluded with Libya, and to work to overcome the concept of detention centers.
The Libyan coast guard has been patrolling the Mediterranean since a deal with Italy in February 2017 that enabled it to return migrants to a country where aid agencies say they suffer torture and ill-treatment. Under this agreement, Italy agreed to train, equip and finance the Libyan Coast Guard, by providing Tripoli with four patrol boats to prevent illegal immigration .
Ferrara added before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives in Rome that Italy called for “a review of the agreements with Libya in the field of migration.” He considered that “the agreements that are still being implemented date back to a different stage, and we want to have a clear reference to the 1951 agreement regarding respect for Refugee rights,” according to the Italian agency “AKI”. That here it is about managing migratory flows and assessing the conditions of migrants in accordance with international standards, that working with the Libyan authorities at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, a work in progress that must be completed.
We find that the Libyan authorities are facing an immigration problem that is no less important than other countries and also dramatic since it became a transit country. That is why they ask us for help to improve the ability to control the borders, especially in the south, and therefore Italy is considering dialogue with the European authorities in this regard.
Immigration Agreement between Al-Sarraj and Italy 4 Years of “Human Trafficking” International humanitarian organizations launched a sharp attack on the agreement signed by Italy with the former Libyan Government of National Accord, calling on the Italian Parliament to immediately cancel the agreement after “4 years of failure and abuse”, and to resume institutional search and rescue activities on the Central Mediterranean route.
In 2017, the former government of Fayez al-Sarraj signed with Italy a memorandum of understanding – which was not ratified by Parliament – on illegal immigration, which includes provisions that human rights advocates consider “unfair” against Libya, especially since it is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or the protocol attached to it. In 1967 and that it is not bound by any obligation arising from that agreement.
Humanitarian organizations emphasized that preventing migrants from reaching Italy “is done at the expense of protecting human rights and the continued loss of migrants’ lives at sea, without putting in place any medium-term solution to establish safe channels for regular arrival of migrants to Italy and Europe.
Moreover, the Italian government spoke with their Libyan counterparts about the importance of respecting the human rights of migrants and refugees who find themselves in Libya. Libya requested concrete assistance, including the exchange of modern technologies to combat terrorism and more training for pilots and coast guards, and we find that The bottom line is that Libya needs more money. Italy has already paid an estimated €785 million to Libya since it signed the bilateral cooperation “agreement” between it and Libya four years ago.
For Amnesty International in Italy, the agreement between Italy and Libya has a lot of complicity and the practice of crimes against international law. Amnesty Italian attributed this to the fact that a lot of money went to the Libyan Coast Guard, which was used to finance the push, imprison or keep migrant boats hostages, and the violation of their human rights.
Additional humanitarian corridors must be created, thus creating more legal and safe routes for refugees to reach Italy and Europe.
