Libya: EU Complicit in Crimes Against Humanity, Says UN

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Facts

  • On Monday, UN investigators said there is evidence that crimes against humanity have been committed against Libyans and migrants stranded in Libya, including women being coerced into sexual slavery.1
  • The investigators commissioned by the UN-backed Human Rights Council also accused the European Union (EU) of aiding and abetting rights violations against Libyans and migrants — such as arbitrary detention, murder, torture, rape, enslavement, sexual enslavement, and enforced disappearance — through their continued support to Libyan forces.2
  • In addition, the UN alleged the EU provided training and equipment to the Libyan coast guard, which it said enslaved migrants in detention centers. The UN report added, “there are reasonable grounds to believe that migrants across Libya are victims of crimes against humanity and that acts of murder" and other human rights violations are associated with detention processes.3
  • Meanwhile, the EU denied funding the Libyan coast guard nor any other entity in Libya, arguing that the EU assistance was meant to “improve their performance when it comes to search and rescue...”4
  • The UN said it would share its finding and evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity with the International Criminal Court, including a list of “possible perpetrators.”5
  • The findings come in an extensive new report, based on interviews with over 400 migrants and witnesses, that concludes a fact-finding mission investigating rights violations, torture, and abuses in Libya.6

Sources: 1Al Jazeera, 2Reuters, 3NBC, 4ABC News, 5UN News, and 6Middle East Eye.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Human Rights Watch. The EU is complicit in abusing migrants as member countries, especially Italy, put migrants under the control of the dangerous Libyan coast guard. The EU has abdicated its primary responsibility of search and rescue in the Mediterranean, where thousands of migrants and asylum seekers have died while attempting to reach Europe from North Africa. Instead, the EU aided Libyan armed groups and contributed to systematic abuses in the name of stopping illegal immigration. There is an urgent need for accountability to end this pervasive impunity.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Newsweek. Migrants and Europeans alike suffer from heavy immigration flows from Libya, which is why European countries must stand firm to defend their borders and not fall prey to "woke" policies. A country’s primary obligation is to protect its citizens and ensure its sovereignty, not look after migrants flooding its shores. Italian Prime Minister Meloni’s popularity reflects the will of many Europeans, and other EU leaders should follow her example in putting their citizens first.