In a press conference held in the Italian Parliament, Refugees in Libya, an association founded by refugees in Tripoil, together with Amnesty International Italy, SOS Mediterranee, and other civil society actors, launched a campaign to revoke the Italy-Libya Memorandum. The agreement, renewed in 2020, has led to thousands of deaths, violent pushbacks, and systemic human rights violations.
The press conference, hosted in the Enrico Berlinguer room of the Italian Parliament and moderated by Lam Magok of Refugees in Libya, was attended by David Yambio, Mahamata Douad of the Refugee Association, Serena Chiodo of Amnesty International Italy, also on behalf of the Asylum and Immigration Roundtable, and Bianca Benvenuti of SOS Mediterranee, also on behalf of sea search and rescue NGOs.
At the opening, Hon. Matteo Orfini, who hosted the press conference, greeted the participants and reiterated his commitment to supporting the need for Italy to withdraw from the agreements with Libya and Tunisia.
Lam Magok, representative of Refugees in Libya and moderator of the press conference, thanked the Italian Parliament for its hospitality and introduced the proceedings by saying: “We are here to launch a campaign against the Italy-Libya Memorandum, which has led to deaths at sea, violent pushbacks and detentions. The release of Almasri has put dozens of migrants in Libya in danger. This agreement is unacceptable and must be stopped!”
Mahmata Daoud, Vice President of Refugees In Libya, said in his speech: “Impunity fuels abuses, and we have to fight against it to achieve justice, dignity, and freedom of movement. Releasing criminals, as happened in the case of Almasri, is clearly a human rights violation. We have demonstrated and documented all abuses and crimes, but these violations are constantly occurring again and again. We, the victims, ask once again: When will these criminals be held accountable? For how long we will lose souls in prisons in Libya. The MoU has consistently violated our rights and today we ask for the end of these crime agreements, Serena Chiodo began by recalling that three years ago, Amnesty International Italy, the Asylum and Immigration Roundtable and many civil society organisations expressed their strong opposition to the agreement and called for its revocation. “The MoU with Libya is part of Europe's policy of externalisation, which involves agreements with countries such as Tunisia, where human rights are seriously violated, and continues to criminalise both NGOs engaged in search and rescue operations and migrants themselves.”
Bianca Benvenuti presented the experience of SOS Méditerranée and the entire civilian fleet, which faces countless obstacles every day in its efforts to save lives: “In eight years, the Italy-Libya agreement has turned the Mediterranean into a death trap. Thousands of people fleeing torture, extortion and violence are systematically pushed back to the hell of Libya, in violation of international law. Libya is not and will never be a safe haven. This is not border control: it is complicity in crimes against humanity. It is time to act, not to look the other way.”
David Yambio, President of Refugees in Libya, concluded: For years we have begged, begged and begged. We have demonstrated and shown tangible evidence of what the Memorandum causes. Our loved ones, who can no longer speak, bear the deadly consequences of this agreement. Today we are no longer beggars. We demand that the Italian and EU governments immediately terminate the Memorandum and all cooperation with Libya. Whatever good intentions may have been behind this agreement, it has failed in humanity. They have also exposed the culprits, those democratically elected who sit comfortably here in Italy, in Brussels and in the command rooms of Frontex, condemning us to death without any remorse.Frontex has not saved lives at sea as required by its legal obligations, but has returned thousands of people to slavery and death. Today, we invite European citizens to join us in this necessary campaign to end this madness once and for all.
