The European Union is currently discussing a “more balanced” approach to migration in Libya, said the EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell on Monday.
This approach would include “effective border management in the north and the south of the country, the protection of vulnerable migrants and refugees, and migration governance,” Borrell stated in a blog published on the EU’s external action service.
He said the Libyan authorities requested the reinforcement of EU support in southern Libya, through the use of EU Border Assistance Mission and “to achieve an integrated approach linking border management and security with job creation and improvement of basic services.”
However, the EU diplomat pointed out that “under the current circumstances, the security situation in the region makes it impossible to establish a stable international presence on the ground.”
He also warned that “the fragile ethnic balance” in Libya’s southern region can be affected by migration movements from neighbouring countries.
Borrell also addressed the humanitarian conditions of migrants in Libya detention centers, which he called “appalling” and “unacceptable”.
“Improving the treatment of migrants will be central to our work in this area,” he affirmed.