Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1497813
17 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 APRIL 2023 report singles out EU for funding Libyan migrant interception third States, the Libyan authorities have continued their policy of in- tercepting and returning migrants to Libya, where their mistreat- ment resumes, in violation of the principle of non-refoulement." "Based on the substantial evi- dence and reports before it, the Missin found grounds to believe that the European Union and its member States, directly or indi- rectly, provided monetary, tech- nical and logistical support to the Libyan Coast Guard (LCG) and Department for Combating Ille- gal Immigration (DCIM) that was used in the context of interception and detention of migrants." The report accuses the EU and its member states of supplying Libyan authorities with rubber boats for coastal patrolling as well as SUVs, buses, ambulances and radio-satellite communication de- vices. In the case of the 108 migrants intercepted while en route to Mal- ta, according to the witness inter- viewed by the mission, the men and women were taken back to the disembarkation point in Trip- oli. They were met with a group of security forces, whose faces were covered, and the migrants were boarded onto buses. Items such as passports and rings were taken away from them. "A witness men- tioned that a captain approached the migrants and offered to re- lease those that could pay 100 to 200 United States dollars, a deal that the witness said was not even honoured for those who did pay." Malta is one EU member state that has entered into a memoran- dum of understanding with Libya to increase capacity-building and coordination support to Libyan entities involved in migrant inter- ception. The MoU signed in 2020 saw Malta finance migration co- ordination centres in Tripoli and Valletta, manned by six people in total. Under the agreement, Malta was to propose to the European Commission and member states to increase financial support for the Libyan Government of the National Accord (GNA) to help secure the country's borders and provide the necessary technolo- gies for border control and pro- tection. Malta was also expected to fund additional maritime assets re- quired to intercept and follow up on human trafficking activities in the Mediterranean basin's SAR zone. The MoU is set to expire this year. The UN report gives a detailed description of what Libyan Coast Guard (LCG) interception and disembarkation operations look like. Migrants who spoke with the UN mission recalled how LCG ships would make seemingly de- liberate unsafe manoeuvres that would lead to boat capsizes or would cause migrants to fall into the water and drown. "The Mission also found rea- sonable grounds to believe that personnel on LCG ships shot at or near boats carrying migrants, causing migrants to jump in- to the water, seeking temporary safety. Migrants were often phys- ically and verbally assaulted and threatened by LCG personnel and other security officials during their transfer onto LCG ships and forced return to Libya." Malta is not the only EU country to have offered support to Lib- ya's interception efforts. In 2017, Italy signed an MoU with Libya agreeing to help the Libyan Coast Guard and enhance its maritime surveillance capacity while pro- viding financial and technical sup- port. It was renewed in November 2022 without amendments. Over and above, the Brook- ings Institute says the EU has of- fered support to the Libyan Coast Guard and other government agencies to the tune of $455 mil- lion since 2015. Last February, the European Commission handed over five specialised search and rescue vessels to the Libyan Coast Guard. This project was initiated by the European Commission and implemented by the Ministry of Interior of Italy. The European Commission in- sisted that such projects aim to avoid the loss of life as migrants cross the Mediterranean by tack- ling human trafficking at source. But as resources go to intercep- tion, Libyan entities still commmit violations and abuses against mi- grants. The UN report describes a revolving door by which migrants are captured, released, recaptured, manage to escape, and end up be- ing intercepted again: "Typically, migrants made their way out of places of detention following the payment of ransom, a successful escape, or en masse discharge, on- ly to be captured again by the same actor that had detained them or another group." "An overwhelming number of interviewed migrants described to the Mission that they had at- tempted to escape detention and cross into Europe several times, some five to ten times over. Per- sons migrating to Europe were loaded, at times against their will, onto varied kinds of boats. Some of the boats were barely seaworthy and overloaded by smugglers and traffickers, ultimately resulting in their sinking at sea and a loss of life." Conditions in Libyan detention centres were no better than con- ditions at sea. Migrants told the mission that there were few mat- tresses and sleeping accommo- dations at the centres. They were overcrowded, toilets were never cleaned, and quarters had to be shared with detainees with infec- tious diseases. There was also reasonable proof of sexual slavery and forced labour in certain detention centres. A child from Guinea told the Mis- sion: "Women are sexual objects there. Some women are used as prostitutes but are not paid. They are like slaves." The girl had been sodomised after being sent to do domestic work for a man outside the building where the migrants were being kept. Women, men, boys and girls were also forced to work in facto- ries. A child from Mali described being taken to a farm and made to work with animals. When he con- fronted the man at the farm on why he could not leave, he found out that he had been bought by him. nmeilak@mediatoday.com.mt The report accuses the EU and its member states of supplying Libyan authorities with rubber boats for coastal patrolling