Libya has become a key conduit for migrants making desperate bids to reach Europe. Many end up stranded in the country where they are prey to abuse at the hands of people-trafficking gangs, rights groups say. AFP
Libya has become a key conduit for migrants making desperate bids to reach Europe. Many end up stranded in the country where they are prey to abuse at the hands of people-trafficking gangs, rights groups say. AFP
Libya has become a key conduit for migrants making desperate bids to reach Europe. Many end up stranded in the country where they are prey to abuse at the hands of people-trafficking gangs, rights groups say. AFP
Libya has become a key conduit for migrants making desperate bids to reach Europe. Many end up stranded in the country where they are prey to abuse at the hands of people-trafficking gangs, rights gro

MENA

Hague prosecutors asked to investigate reported war crimes against migrants in Libya

NGOs claim Italy and Malta governments were complicit in abuse of asylum seekers

Neil Murphy
Neil Murphy

January 21, 2022

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Human rights groups have asked the International Criminal Court in the Hague to investigate possible war crimes that were perpetrated against migrants being detained in Libya

Three European NGOs — StraLi, based in Italy, the Dutch group UpRights and France's Adala for All — claim thousands of asylum seekers, including children, endured systematic abuse by Libyan armed groups between 2017 and 2021 as they attempted the dangerous crossing from North Africa to Europe.

They also claim officials in Malta and Italy were complicit in the abuse after they “acted in a co-ordinated manner with the Libyan coastguard in the recovery of migrants to ensure that they were intercepted and returned to Libya".

The activists, who issued the request this week, said the incidents should be investigated as war crimes under Article 8 of the International Criminal Court Statute and as crimes against humanity under Article 7, InfoMigrants said.

Ramadan Amani, spokesman for Adala for All, said there was “evidence of pervasive international crimes on Europe’s doorstep".

Last year, investigators commissioned by the UN’s top human rights body also found evidence of possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in the North African country.

The first findings from a “fact-finding mission” commissioned by the Human Rights Council chronicle crimes including murder, torture, enslavement, extrajudicial killings and rape.

Illegal crossings into southern Europe from Libya and Tunisia — in pictures

A migrant rescued by Tunisia's national guard during an attempt to enter Europe by crossing the Mediterranean by boat at the port of El Ketef, near the border with Libya. All photos: AFP
A migrant rescued by Tunisia's national guard during an attempt to enter Europe by crossing the Mediterranean by boat at the port of El Ketef, near the border with Libya. All photos: AFP
Rescued migrants rest at El Ketef after an aborted crossing of the Mediterranean.
Rescued migrants rest at El Ketef after an aborted crossing of the Mediterranean.
Migrants arrive in Tunisia and Libya from many parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia to attempt the crossing.
Migrants arrive in Tunisia and Libya from many parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia to attempt the crossing.
Thousands pay traffickers to help them on the last leg of their journey, often in vessels that are not seaworthy. These migrants are resting at El Ketef after being rescued by Tunisia's national guard.
Thousands pay traffickers to help them on the last leg of their journey, often in vessels that are not seaworthy. These migrants are resting at El Ketef after being rescued by Tunisia's national guard.
Huge numbers are still attempting the crossing despite cold winter weather and rough seas.
Huge numbers are still attempting the crossing despite cold winter weather and rough seas.
Bangladeshi migrants who were rescued as they attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea by boat wait to board a bus as they are deported from Libya in Tripoli. Tunisia and Libya are key departure points for migrants attempting the dangerous crossing from the North African coast to Europe, particularly Italy.
Bangladeshi migrants who were rescued as they attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea by boat wait to board a bus as they are deported from Libya in Tripoli. Tunisia and Libya are key departure points for migrants attempting the dangerous crossing from the North African coast to Europe, particularly Italy.
Last year, a record 35,000 migrants reached the Italian island of Lampedusa, which lies about 333 kilometres off the coast of Tunisia.
Last year, a record 35,000 migrants reached the Italian island of Lampedusa, which lies about 333 kilometres off the coast of Tunisia.
Other migrants become stranded in North Africa because they cannot afford to pay traffickers for the boat journey to Europe.
Other migrants become stranded in North Africa because they cannot afford to pay traffickers for the boat journey to Europe.
The UN says some migrants are joining forces to buy their own boats to attempt the crossing.
The UN says some migrants are joining forces to buy their own boats to attempt the crossing.
Migrants rescued by Tunisia's national guard during an attempted crossing of the Mediterranean by boat, rest on the beach at the port of el-Ketef in Ben Guerdane in southern Tunisia near the border with Libya.
Migrants rescued by Tunisia's national guard during an attempted crossing of the Mediterranean by boat, rest on the beach at the port of el-Ketef in Ben Guerdane in southern Tunisia near the border with Libya.
Bangladeshi migrants wait to board a bus as they are deported from Libya.
Bangladeshi migrants wait to board a bus as they are deported from Libya.
The Libyan Coast Guard rescued more than 30,000 as they attempted the crossing last year, more than three times as many as in the previous year.
The Libyan Coast Guard rescued more than 30,000 as they attempted the crossing last year, more than three times as many as in the previous year.
More than 1,300 people died trying to make the journey.
More than 1,300 people died trying to make the journey.
Migrants from South Asia in Tunisia after being rescued in the Mediterranean.
Migrants from South Asia in Tunisia after being rescued in the Mediterranean.

The report also cited findings from “reliable organisations” that about 87,000 migrants have been intercepted by the Libyan coastguard since 2016, including about 7,000 that are currently in centres run by the Department for Combating Illegal Migration.

“Our investigations have established that all parties to the conflict, including third-state foreign fighters and mercenaries, have violated international humanitarian law, in particular the principle of proportionality and distinction,” said Mohamed Auajjar, a former Moroccan justice minister who led the team.

“Some have also committed war crimes.”

Libya remains the most popular departure point for illegal crossings into southern Europe, the European Border and Guard Agency said. It added that there has been an up to 83 per cent increase in crossings in the past 21 months.

Last year was one of the deadliest for illegal migrants looking to arrive in Europe by sea or land, with at least 4,400 deaths reported by the UN. However, the real figure is feared to be much higher.

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Evacuations to France hit by controversy
  • Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
  • Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
  • The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
  • Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
  • It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
  • Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
  • Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Updated: January 21, 2022, 8:12 PM`