Civil rescue groups in Mediterranean cut ties with Libyan coastguard

"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."

"We have never recognised these actors as a legitimate rescue authority they are part of a violent regime enabled by the EU, said Ina Friebe, of the German activist group CompassCollective, in a joint statement put out by the 13 organisations. Now we are increasingly being pressured to communicate with exactly these actors. This must stop, she said. Ending all operational communication with the so-called Libyan Rescue Coordination Center is both a legal and moral necessity a clear line against European complicity in crimes against humanity."

"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. The search-and-rescue organisations described the Libyan coastguard as an illegitimate actor at sea, noting that Libya was not a place of safety for refugees."

Thirteen search-and-rescue organisations suspended communication with the Libyan coastguard, citing escalating violent interceptions and forced returns to Libya. They reported asylum seekers being taken to camps rife with torture, rape and forced labour. The NGOs framed the decision as rejection of EU and Italian pressure to share information with a coastguard that receives EU training, equipment and funding. A 2021 UN investigation found migrants and refugees in Libya faced widespread abuses suggestive of crimes against humanity. The NGOs called the Libyan coastguard illegitimate and warned of legal and moral necessity to cut operational contact despite risks of penalties.

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