LYBIA’S REFUGEE CAMPS

country between the UN-recognized – and partially -initiated – Government of the National Accord in Tripoli and the military-backed House of Representatives under Khalifa Belqasim Haftar in the East. In this setting, militias more or less affiliated with one side or the other played essential roles as well.

The political instability of the post-Gaddafi period also triggered a collapse of the security system, which has since then been taken advantage of by transnational criminal networks smuggling drugs, weapons, and, most importantly, migrants. The smuggling of migrants is a lucrative business because Libya is an important stopover for people fleeing from other African countries. From Libya, they want to cross the Mediterranean to then demand asylum in Italy or continue their journey on to other European countries. Due to the security breakdown, migration to Libya and attempts to reach Europe through the Mediterranean have increased after the outbreak of the civil war. The increase in refugees arriving in Italy was met with growing concern by the European Union. It led to a reinforcement of monetary support for Libya to stop irregular immigration. One specific example is the deal between Italy and Libya that was signed in 2017. According to The Guardian, it assured a payment of

about 90 million euros and provided training for coastguards and new speed boats to prevent migrants from taking the Mediterranean refugee route to Italy. The humanitarian legitimization of these investments is that a stronger coastguard would also prevent deaths on the Mediterranean refugee route by preventing transfers in the first place. It is indeed true that increased financial support of Libya’s coast guard led to a drastic decrease in people arriving in Europe. However, it is not true that this correlates with higher safety of the refugees. On the contrary, statistics show that the Mediterranean route has become much more deadly since the increase in investment in so-called border protection. Described by Karim El-Gawhary in his book “Repression and Rebellion,” in 2017, every 42nd refugee died on the Mediterranean. In 2018, comparatively, it was every 18th.

Research from EU fact checks show that Libya has received payments from the EU to the height of 698.2 million euros in the period between 2014 and 2020. This money is meant to go to humanitarian aid, the Emergency Fund for Africa, and stability and peace projects.

Officially, a significant part should also be used to ameliorate the conditions in the detention centers. According to investigations from Oxfam in 2017, however, most of the projects are not really aimed at “addressing root causes of the irregular migration, but are designed to restrict and discourage irregular migration through migration containment and control.” This faces harsh criticism from human rights organizations stating that the payments to Libya’s coastguards are a way of circumventing international laws that prohibit pushbacks. It is a way of transferring the responsibility to Libya, enforcing illegal practices instead of focussing on improving the conditions migrants are fleeing, and facing their own responsibilities to guarantee the right for fair treatment of asylum demands. Furthermore, there is no control over where the money goes exactly because of the fragmentation of Libya’s political landscape. This can be seen in the cooperation between militias and the UN-recognized GNA, especially when it comes to controlling detention centers. An example is the notorious “Tobacco Factory” which is infiltrated with members from a GNA-affiliated militia beneath the militia leader Emad al-Trabulsi. Another example is the Nasr detention center that is under the lead of the militia head Mohammed Kachlaf, who is under UN sanctions for human trafficking. A further important figure is the coastguard leader Abd al-Rahman Milad, who has been accused by the UN of being involved in sinking migrant boats and collaborating with people-smugglers. Apart from the human rights abuses these militias carry out and the profits they make through human-trafficking, blackmailing, and – according to the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime – work exploitation, there are documentations of militias directly profiting from European money. According to The Associated Press, only two of the 50 budgeted dinars per day and detainee are actually used for meals. The rest goes into the hands of militias. But even the companies that are involved in the administration of the detention centers are militia-led. For example, millions of dollars have been linked to at least one company that has ties to the militia leader Mohammed al-Khoja. The documents show multi-million dollar contracts with the al-Khoja-controlled catering firm Ard al-Wata. Before taking charge of the detention center in question, al-Khoja had already been in charge of the center Tariq al-Sikka, for which various institutional human rights abuses were documented. For example, at least 25 inmates were diagnosed with tuberculosis by Doctors Without Borders, and this phenomenon was directly linked to the malnutrition the migrants had experienced. For two years, the only meal they were provided with in the detention center was macaroni. But how aware are the European Union and the United Nations of the mismanagement of their money? The UN’s International Organization For Migration officially acknowledged that it has to work with partners who might cooperate with local militias. The UNHCR official Filippo Grandi even said that asylum systems generally cannot be reinforced in Libya because of the ongoing conflicts within the country. The papers from the Support To Integrated Border And Migration Management In Libya stated

that irregular migrants generally end up in exactly those detention centers that are officially known to be militia-controlled. Furthermore, the EU’s own documents from 2017 even warn directly that there is a medium to high risk that the European money would increase human rights violations against migrations. To conclude, the responsible authorities initiating the monetary support of Libya are well aware of the use of European money in Libya. Although they officially condemn the situation faced by migrants in Libya, they are the very ones financially supporting the militias linked to human-trafficking and human rights abuse. The Associate Director of Human Rights Watch, Judith Sunderland, even goes further than solemnly calling out on the hypocrisy. She states that it is the very money from the EU that enabled the inhumane prison system in Libya in the first place. It is obvious that the assurance of human rights and improvement of the conditions migrants face is therefore subordinated to the goal of minimizing arrivals in Europe. Apart from not meeting its duties to ensure human rights, the EU is simply delaying the issue until the future by worsening the situation for migrants and therefore creating more cases of people eligible for asylum in the future. A shift in focus from short-term political goals — to minimize arrivals at any cost — towards a more sustainable and institutional approach would be necessary. In other words, to actually act on the guideline officially pursued, which is to “address root causes of irregular migration.” However, due to the issue of missing reliable collaborators in Libya’s fragmented political landscape, more binding rules on a reallocation of financial support to institutional projects alone is not enough. Libyan businessman Husni Bey provides a possible approach by stating that if the aim is to stop human smuggling, “Europe would be much better off blacklisting the names of those involved in human trafficking, fuel and 41 drug smuggling and charging them with crimes, instead of giving them money.” ■