Refugees and migrants refusing to leave a cargo boat in a Libyan port are pleading to be taken to Europe, saying they are prepared to die than be returned to detention in the North African country. The State of Libya is a country in North Africa and has the 10th-largest proven oil reserves of any..
Refugees and migrants refusing to leave a cargo boat in a Libyan port are pleading to be taken to Europe, saying they are prepared to die than be returned to detention in the North African country.
Background
The State of Libya is a country in North Africa and has the 10th-largest proven oil reserves of any country in the world. Libya became independent as a kingdom in 1951. A military coup in 1969 overthrew King Idris I. The coup leader Mohammed Gaddafi ruled the country from 1969 until he was overthrown and killed in the 2011 NATO invasion of Libya. Two authorities initially claimed to govern Libya: the Council of Deputies in Tobruk and the 2014 General National Congress in Tripoli. After UN-led peace talks between the Tobruk and Tripoli governments, a unified interim UN-backed Government of National Accord was established in 2015, and the GNC disbanded to support it. Parts of Libya remain outside either government’s control, with various Islamist, rebel and tribal militias administering some areas.
In 2011 NATO members in effect acted as the air force of the revolution that toppled Mohammed Gaddafi. The operation was led by France and Britain, with the participation of Italy (Libya’s former colonial master) and America leading from behind. Soon after he was overthrown, the Europeans stood by as Libya descended into a civil war that left it shattered and ruled by militias.
The largest flow of modern African migration funnels through Libya. The migrant influx from Libya has come amidst political instability and large-scale political fringe groups looking to establish their claim over the land once ruled by the dictatorial Gaddafi regime. The presence of local militia in high numbers reduces the effectiveness and outreach of the United Nations-backed National Accord Government that aims to stabilise, reintegrate and regenerate Libya.
Analysis
Dozens of increasingly desperate migrants rescued by a cargo ship in the Mediterranean have been refusing to leave after it docked in a Libyan port.
There are currently 77 people on board the cargo ship, pleading to be taken to Europe, saying they are prepared to die than be returned to detention in the North African country. The ship brought them to Misrata on 10 November after picking them up from a boat off Libya’s western coast. Doctors Without Borders, a medical charity known by its French initials, MSF, has aid workers treating burns and who have “witnessing the despair” among those still aboard the ship.
The migrants were picked up by a Panamanian-flagged cargo ship, the Nivin, on 8 November. According to a UN statement, they are from Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Somalia.
Paula Barrachina Esteban, spokesperson for the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR), said the world body is providing humanitarian aid to those on The Nivin.
“At the moment, we’re just advocating for a solution to be found and discussing with the relevant authorities,” said Esteban.
The refugees and migrants are being given food and water.
Some have said they would rather die than be forced to disembark in Libya where they say they were held captive and tortured by smugglers. Many are sick and injured, after being burned with oil from the rubber boat they were travelling in. While many on board said they had survived torture by human traffickers in Libya, some also had stories about serious abuses in official detention centres. A man on board The Nivin said he had witnessed fellow detainees being shot and killed while escaping an official Libyan detention centre. There have previously been reports of deaths in detention centres run by the Libyan Department for Combatting Illegal Migration (DCIM).
Julian Raickman, the head of the MSF mission in Libya, called for those on board the docked ship – and other refugees and migrants – to not be sent to detention.
“People are exhausted, they don’t want to go to those detention centres,” she said.
“I can understand as a human, and we strongly believe that we, as a humanitarian community, should work together in order to find another solution for these people than detention.
“This concerns these people on the boat but also more broadly the situation of all migrants in Libya.”
Assessment
Our assessment is that under international law, refugees should be sent to a place where their life is at risk, and we believe that these desperate pleas for asylum should not go unheard. We feel that more efforts need to be made to ensure the safety and protection of asylum seekers, in order to prevent future migrant crises.
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