Routes to Justice for Migrants in Libya

On World Refugee Day (20 June 2023), LFJL called out the violent policies of European states and the European Union (EU) that continue to contribute to the deaths of migrants and refugees, at sea and in Libya. This came just days after one of the most fatal shipwrecks in the Mediterranean in recent years, where a boat carrying migrants and refugees departing from Tobruk, Eastern Libya capsized within Greek waters. It was reported that more than 80 people died and an estimated 500 people are still missing or presumed to have died. The lack of safe and legal passage to Europe continues to force migrants and refugees to make deadly journeys in search of refuge.

Without adequate accountability measures, the ‘Fortress Europe’ policies upheld by the EU continue to create a hostile environment, where violence towards migrants, refugees, and NGOs that support them is normalised and even legitimised. In July, the Libyan coastguard fired shots during rescue missions conducted by SOS Mediterranée. These shots were reportedly fired from a Libyan coastguard vessel provided by the EU, once again highlighting European involvement in violence towards migrants, refugees and additionally rescue workers.

Moving towards accountability and justice

In May, the International Crime Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan briefed the UN Security Council on his office’s investigations in Libya. Prosecutor Khan highlighted the issuance of four new arrest warrants for Libya that remain under seal while two additional arrest warrants are currently under review against suspects allegedly involved in committing international crimes in Libya. Whilst the new arrest warrants signify a key turning point for accountability in Libya, arrest warrants alone do not equate to justice. Concrete steps must be taken to bring the accused to trial before the ICC.

Prosecutor Khan also emphasized the ICC’s support for national prosecutions of crimes against migrants and refugees within Dutch courts, as mentioned in our previous project update. LFJL continues to urge the ICC and national prosecutors to strengthen their efforts on crimes against humanity prosecutions as smuggling and human trafficking charges alone do not capture the gravity of the crimes committed, as documented by the UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission (FFM). The ICC while continuing to support domestic prosecutions by third states must urgently open its own investigation into these crimes and take the necessary steps to prosecute those most responsible and uphold the rights of the victims. To advocate this, the LFJL team undertook a mission to The Hague in June to attend the annual ICC-NGO roundtables convened by the Coalition for the International Criminal Court to strengthen the dialogue between civil society voices and ICC Principals and officials.

Ongoing advocacy efforts

In April, LFJL submitted information on homelessness of migrants and refugees in Libya to the Special Rapporteur (SR) on contemporary forms of slavery. These findings illustrated the link between homelessness and contemporary forms of slavery – a nexus of particular interest to the SR on contemporary forms of slavery ahead of his report to the 54^th session of the Human Rights Council. LFJL found migrants and refugees in Libya to be particularly vulnerable due to their lack of access to fundamental freedoms and protections. Through providing relevant inputs to Special Rapporteur’s reports such as this, LFJL aims to amplify its recommendations to the international community, draw the attention of relevant international actors to the Libya situation and drive them to take action. In a welcome development, in May 2023 a group of six UN experts, including the SR on contemporary forms of slavery, issued a communication to the Libyan authorities expressing their concern over breaches of international law, including international human rights law and international criminal law, in relation to the trafficking, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance of migrants and refugees in Libya.

In July, LFJL joined Refugees in Libya and many other organisations and activists for a demonstration in Brussels in solidarity with migrants and refugees trapped in Libya and impacted by violent EU border policies. This demonstration was mobilised in response to the EU Council summit, which was happening in the same week and where migration was a key agenda item. In this dynamic weekend of solidarity, members of the LFJL team met with survivors and different organisations and activists dedicated to supporting migrants and refugees in Libya.

Also in July, LFJL submitted, jointly with other civil society organisations, information to Members of the European Parliament ahead of an Exchange of Views on Migration Cooperation with Libya. The organisations highlighted alarming developments in the east of Libya, including in relation to a meeting between Khalifa Haftar and Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni.

What’s next?

What is deeply clear from recent news is that justice and accountability for violations and crimes against migrants and refugees is more necessary than ever. LFJL will continue to collaborate with and support organisations and grassroots movements that have access to migrants and refugees inside Libya, such as Refugees in Libya. LFJL will also continue to monitor and advocate for the opening of an investigation into the international crimes committed against migrants and refugees by the ICC and domestic prosecutors. And we are also exploring ways to urge the UNHCR to intervene in a number of specific cases of arbitrary detention.

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In March 2023, the UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) released their awaited final report on their investigation of human rights and humanitarian law violations and abuses in Libya since 2016. Throughout its mandate, LFJL has strongly supported the FFM through the submission of evidence and information and have closely followed its work.

Within its report the Mission stated to have interviewed over 100 migrants on their experiences within Libya and on this basis of evidence, established that there are reasonable grounds to believe that migrants and refugees across Libya, especially within detention centres, are victims of crimes against humanity. There were a number of harrowing human rights violations and crimes against humanity that were found and documented by the Mission, such as trafficking, torture, sexual violence, enslavement and other inhumane acts. The Mission also found reasonable grounds to believe that Libyan officials within the Libyan Coast Guard, Stability Support Apparatus and the Directorate for Combating Illegal Migration had colluded with traffickers and smugglers.

The Mission further reported on the evidence of systematic torture within detention centres, which has contributed to suicides among migrants and refugees. Sexual violence is prevalent within detention centres, resulting in pregnancies, with evidence of migrants and refugees giving birth under extreme difficulties and without professional medical support. Enslavement, including sexual slavery, against migrants has been documented as occurring within detention centres. The report also highlighted the inhumane standards of hygiene and health – with evidence of overcrowding, lack of mattresses and cases of starvation.

Despite the findings from the final FFM report, the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) have failed to establish a follow-up accountability mechanism. The resolution instead focused on technical assistance and capacity building. With the overwhelming evidence of crimes against humanity and dire human rights violations, LFJL continues to urge both the HRC to take appropriate action and the International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan to urgently open an investigation into these crimes and take the necessary steps to prosecute those most responsible.

Collaboration to push for justice and accountability

Over the last few months, LFJL has continued to build networks with Libyan and international organisations on monitoring and documenting the situation for migrants and refugees in Libya and advocating for protection and remedy.

As part of LFJL’s wider advocacy strategy and in the side lines of the 52^nd session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), LFJL staff conducted a joint mission to meet with numerous HRC special procedures thematic mandates, including contemporary forms of slavery and trafficking in persons, and other relevant UN offices in Geneva. The meetings were held to shed light on the situation in Libya and urge the mandate holders to advise and publicly report on the human rights situation of migrants and refugees – particularly important given the inadequate HRC resolution outlined above.

LFJL staff also attended a one-day workshop, organised with a number of organisations working on migration and refugee protection in Libya, to take stock of the present-day challenges and conditions including assessing the needs of Libyan civil society organisations working on the ground, and ways to assure their protection and the respect of their fundamental human rights. The workshop allowed organisations to exchange knowledge and information and to form a coalition that aims to develop common legal and advocacy strategies.

LFJL has also been following the recent hearings within Dutch courts for two Eritrean men, accused of committing crimes against migrants and refugees in Libya. The two suspects were alleged to have operated out of the notorious trafficking hub of Bani Walid, in north east Libya. The case focuses on Eritrean families in the Netherlands who were forced to pay traffickers for the release of family members in Libya. The Dutch Public Prosecution’s Office is considering charging the suspects on participation in a criminal organisation engaged in human smuggling, hostage-taking, extortion and violence including sexual violence under Dutch common law. Our legal team is exploring how advocating to expand the charges could further establish justice for the victims and contribute to non-recurrence, with a specific focus on the framing of the crimes as crimes against humanity, as opposed to smuggling.

What's next?

LFJL will continue to advocate for the full respect of migrant and refugee rights by Libyan and European authorities. With the release of the FFM report and the failure of the HRC to establish a follow-up mechanism, it is more essential than ever to continue to call on the international community to act and to seek accountability for all perpetrators of gross human rights violations and crimes under international law.

Thank you for your continued and generous support. To receive regular updates about the work we do across all of our programmes, you can subscribe to our mailing list.

Links:

• https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/libya/index