World Refugee Day on 19 June saw the release of an Amnesty International report – a document strongly suggesting that ill treatment of refugees arriving in Libya may be EU-funded.
According to Amnesty, funds that the EU has given to Libya to assist in border security may have been used to establish immigration ‘holding centres’ where detainees are systematically abused.
Amnesty accuses the EU of “assisting the Libyan authorities in developing ‘an integrated border management strategy’ in order to curb ‘illegal migration’ to Europe at the expense of human rights”.
In April and May this year, Amnesty said it visited seven of these holding centres where it claims to have found evidence of abuse and torture against refugees, many of whom come from sub-Saharan Africa.
Amnesty Ireland’s executive director Colm O’Gorman described the findings as “a stain on the record of post-Gaddafi Libya”.
Metro Éireann is appalled by these reports, and calls on the EU to urgently investigate Amnesty’s findings and ensure its funds are not used to violate human rights in Libya. At the same time, we do not believe that closing borders will stop so-called ‘illegal’ migration from Africa to Europe.
The EU must address the causes of mass migration from sub-Saharan Africa (where most migrants and refugees in Libya are coming from) and that includes bringing an end to the ongoing exploitation of countries in that region.
