The Italian Senate approved on Wednesday a resolution which would allow the government to continue providing support for the Libyan Coast Guard. However, ten senators voted against the resolution, citing the human rights abuse that migrants endure in Libyan detention centers.
Loredana De Petris, Francesco Verducci, Emma Bonino, Piero Grasso, Vasco Errani, Francesco Laforgia, Vincenzo D’Arienzo, Maurizio Buccarella, Tommaso Nannicini and Sandro Ruotolo have released a joint statement, in which they pointed out that the Italian judiciary has been investigating the alleged collusion between the Libyan Coast Guard and human traffickers.
“We voted against the refinancing of the bilateral assistance mission to the Libyan Coast Guard,” the ten senators said in a joint statement. “In fact, the systematic violations of human rights to which migrants and refugees in Libya are subjected are proven beyond any possible doubt”.
“The collusion, and often the overlap, between the Libyan Coast Guard and the organized criminals who manage human trafficking have also been the subject of several investigations by the Italian judiciary,” they said.
“The operations of the Libyan Coast Guard, financed by Italy’s robust and growing economic contribution, cannot be considered rescues,” the senators emphasized. “Instead, interception actions are often violations that take place without respecting the fundamental requirements of international conditions”.
“Continuing to directly and indirectly support the deportation of men, women and children to detention centers in Libya, pretending that this reality does not exist, constitutes a violation of international conventions for protection of human rights,” their statement concluded.