In the Chamber of Deputies, the Joint Committees III (Foreign and EU Affairs) and IV (Defence) will continue their examination of the Council of Ministers' resolution on Italy's participation in international missions for 2023. Maritime rescue organisations have been invited to the hearing. As stated in the document available on the Parliament's website, "the mission in Libya (European Union Border Assistance Mission in Libya - EUBAM Libya) aims to support the Libyan authorities in the establishment of State security structures in Libya, in particular in the areas of border management, law enforcement and criminal justice, in order to contribute to efforts to dismantle organised criminal networks involved in smuggling of migrants, trafficking in human beings and terrorism in Libya and the central Mediterranean region".
Meanwhile, press sources report that the Libyan unity government's (Gun) interior ministry may sign a memorandum of understanding with the Italian interior ministry to combat irregular migration, on the occasion of Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dabaiba's visit to Rome. The leaked draft agreement envisages the 'exchange of information and expertise on the fight against human trafficking' and the 'continuation of training' for Libyan coastguard officers, according to a 'mechanism to be agreed later'. According to the non-final text, it would also include the 'continued supply of vessels and maritime equipment to Libya' and the 'conduct of joint exercises at sea and the provision of technical and logistical support to the Libyan Coast Guard Command'.
Moreover, as with previous agreements, the latter would be automatically extended for three years if neither party expressed a wish to terminate it (Article 9).
In recent years, we maritime rescue organisations have repeatedly reported and highlighted the harmful consequences of the Italian-Libyan agreement, signed in 2017 and renewed twice, most recently last February.
No 'democratic stabilisation' function can be credibly ascribed to a mission plan that does not make respect for human rights and the provisions of international conventions a non-negotiable condition. The principle of 'gradual development and improvement' - in this case completely contradicted by the experience of recent years - cannot be applied when the rights and lives of innocent people are at stake. The 'Libyan system', as recently denounced by the latest UN investigation report (2023), has rather contributed to the 'destabilisation' of that country.
The Libya system has never provided for 'stays', but only for the detention of migrants, and it has never provided for 'rescues at sea', but only for arrests and deportations, denounced above all by monitoring agencies such as UNHCR and IOM.
We believe that there can be no tolerance for very serious human rights violations, and also refer to the ongoing investigation by the International Criminal Court against leading members of the so-called 'Libyan Coast Guard' for crimes against humanity. We also demand that Italy's compliance with its international and constitutional obligations, starting with respect for fundamental human rights, be a necessary condition for assessing and monitoring the Italian military presence abroad.
And it is certainly appropriate to consider how to intervene in that country to ensure that a path of protection and promotion of fundamental human rights is implemented, both for the people who live there and for those who cross it to reach safe places where they can find protection. However, on a daily basis, those working in Libya and those involved in sea rescues record episodes of serious violations of fundamental principles, such as the total absence of any form of protection of life.
In the years since the 2017 agreement, more than one hundred thousand people have been returned to that country and thousands continue to lose their lives in the central Mediterranean, despite the massive funding of more than 30 million euros for the so-called Libyan coastguard. There have also been serious attacks on those working there. Over the years, some crews have recorded episodes of shooting and threats by this corps, whose composition is still not always clear.
In the light of what has been said, we call on the Parliament and the Government to revoke the Italian-Libyan memorandum, not to refinance or extend the international military missions that support the activities of the so-called Libyan Coast Guard and make us complicit in crimes against humanity and serious violations of human rights.
Finally, we call for funding to be made available for the creation of a European maritime rescue mission with a clear mandate to search for and rescue people at sea, and for the humanitarian commitment of NGOs carrying out SAR in the central Mediterranean to be recognised.
