The two-day EU-African Union summit between African and European leaders on February 18, 2022 concluded without new or specific solutions related to supporting the rights of migrants and refugees in Libya and elsewhere in the central Mediterranean.
Despite urgent and persistent calls from human rights groups; European leaders have again failed to come up with a plan to modify existing policies that endanger the lives of migrants and refugees, and expose them to crimes against humanity and war crimes.
While the coronavirus and economic growth were high on the agenda; the discussions were about how to expand migration routes from Africa to Europe, which would begin to address the issue of migrants and refugees.
Instead; the summit concluded with an agreement committing countries on the two continents to a “common vision” of a renewed partnership, centered on investment in energy, transportation, digital infrastructure, health and education, and it seems that cooperation on migration was at the bottom of the priorities within the agreement.
Alarmingly, the common vision does not obligate states to take any practical steps to modify current EU migration policies and provide protection to migrants and refugees in Libya.
Although working “in full respect for international law and fundamental human rights” is guaranteed in the Convention, the lack of a clear action plan on how to achieve the vision means that it is likely to remain an empty promise.
Lawyers for Justice in Libya (LFJL) stressed that the European Union must stop turning a blind eye to the grave harm its policies are doing to refugees and migrants trapped in Libya.
The organization renewed its call to the European Union to issue approval to end interceptions at sea and return to Libya, and to ensure that search and rescue operations comply with the principle of non-refoulement by facilitating the disembarkation of migrants and refugees in a safe port in Europe where their rights can be protected.
It also stressed the need to suspend any existing agreement regarding migration management policies, and to refrain from concluding new agreements with the Libyan authorities until they provide adequate human rights guarantees, including an appropriate asylum framework.
LFJL underscored the need to increase resettlement quotas for refugees from countries along the Central Mediterranean route and to invest in the administrative capacity of countries of origin, transit and destination to facilitate and expedite the resettlement process.
It also called for expanded access to labor migration directly from countries of origin, especially for low and medium skilled workers.
