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The head of Libya’s UN-backed Government of National Unity, Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah, presented a plan to European Union (EU) ministers on Tuesday aimed at reducing the flow of migrants to the EU.
Dbeibah emphasised that addressing the migration challenge requires international assistance, stating, “The migration issue cannot be resolved without the support of friendly countries… The problem exceeds our country’s capabilities.”
Dbeibah announced a “huge national campaign… with the support of several friendly countries to combat the trafficking of human beings.”
His remarks came during talks in Tripoli with EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner, joined by the interior ministers of Italy (Matteo Piantedosi), Malta (Byron Camilleri), and Greece’s Migration Minister Thanos Plevris.
Millions of Migrants in Libya, Human Rights Concerns Remain
Libyan Interior Minister Imad Trabelsi estimated that the country currently hosts between three and four million undocumented migrants, whom authorities “encourage to leave.”
The interior ministry indicated that migrants with in-demand skills for Libyan employers would have their status regularised, while others would face deportation.
Since the 2011 overthrow of Moamer Kadhafi, Libya has become a primary departure point for tens of thousands of migrants attempting dangerous sea crossings to Europe.
Migrants intercepted by Libyan authorities, even in international waters, are often forcibly returned to Libya and held in detention centres where conditions are frequently condemned by the United Nations.
The EU’s cooperation with Libyan authorities on irregular migration has drawn strong criticism from human rights organisations.
Amnesty International, for instance, stated that “the EU’s morally bankrupt migration cooperation with Libyan authorities amounts to complicity in horrific human rights violations,” urging the EU and its member states to “urgently re-evaluate their support.”
