Photo credit: Indian Express
Amnesty International on Tuesday condemned a European Union move to increase cooperation with Libya to stem migration despite an intensifying crackdown on migrants in the country.
Gulf News reports that Libya is one of the main North African departure points for migrants risking the perilous journey across the Mediterranean sea to reach Europe.
Amnesty said both the United Nations-recognized government and its rival eastern-based administration have been carrying out crackdown on migrants and fuelling anti-migrant sentiments with “xenophobic and racist statements”.
“The European Union is seeking to expand its migration cooperation with rival Libyan authorities and allied armed groups just as they have been escalating their campaign of racially discriminatory arrests, arbitrary detention, and unlawful collective expulsions of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants supported by xenophobic discourse,” the UK-based rights group said.
Since the death of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 following NATO-backed uprising, Libya has been riven by divisions and instability.
It is divided between the government based in the capital Tripoli and an eastern administration backed by military commander Khalifa Haftar.
The situation has fostered human trafficking and abuses against migrants, who have fallen victim in particular to extortion and slavery, according to the UN and international NGOs.
According to Amnesty, the |EU| is seeking to set up a Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in eastern Benghazi.
