The European Union's obstruction of nongovernmental rescues of migrants at sea and the handover of responsibility to Libyan coast guard forces is a recipe for even greater loss of life in the Mediterranean, Human Rights Watch said in a statement. The organization says it perpetuates a continuing cycle of abuse for people trapped in Libya.
"The EU's efforts to block rescues and dithering on where rescued people can land, propelled by Italy's hard-line and heartless approach, is leading to more deaths at sea and greater suffering in Libya," Judith Sunderland, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch said. "Instead of discouraging rescues by nongovernmental organizations, commercial vessels, and even military ships, EU member states and institutions should ensure that rescued people can be taken to safe ports where their protection needs can be met."
Ships 'deterred' by threats of criminal prosecution
In a statement, HRW confirmed that Libyan coast guard forces lack the capacity to ensure safe and effective search-and-rescue operations. Further, "since his government came to power in early June, Italy's deputy prime minister and interior minister, Matteo Salvini, has campaigned against nongovernmental rescue organizations operating in the Mediterranean and refused or delayed ships from disembarking hundreds of vulnerable people rescued at sea in Italy, including military and commercial vessels," it said. Moreover, "the risk that their vessels could be impounded, or that they could face criminal prosecution or financial loss from delayed disembarkation, risks deterring commercial ships from rescuing people at sea, even as the demand increases," HRW insisted.
EU must act to save lives at sea
The death toll in the central Mediterranean has skyrocketed even as departures from Libya have fallen significantly. "The failure by EU member states to ensure adequate search-and-rescue capacity in the Central Mediterranean … may in certain circumstances give rise to liability for preventable loss of life and for direct breaches of the prohibition of refoulement - return to risk of persecution, torture, or ill treatment," HRW said. "Enabling Libyan coast guard units to intercept people in international waters, when it is known the coast guard will return people to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment in arbitrary detention in Libya … may constitute aiding or assisting serious human rights violations," the organisation added. HRW then called on EU leaders and institutions to "unequivocally reject Salvini's call to "change the rules" to designate Libya a safe place to take refugees and migrants" and "act urgently to protect life at sea and take rapid steps to ensure predictable disembarkation in places of safety".