Brussels_ The EU denied last week it has been handing “physical money” to some Libyan entities in order to keep migrants in check in the country and implement undeclared EU policy in this regard.
A UN fact-finding mission found that the EU “aided and abetted” the commission of crimes against migrants in the unstable country
The UN report released on March 27 and based on hundreds of interviews conducted over a three-year fact-finding mission concluded that there is evidence that crimes against humanity have been committed against Libyans and migrants stuck in the country.
On March 28, the EU’s spokesman for foreign affairs, “Peter Stano”, insisted in press statements that the EU does not finance any Libyan entity and does not give material funds to partners in Libya.
Stano said what the EU is doing there is allocating a lot of money that usually used by international partners and passes through the United Nations.
According to the report, these crimes include women being forced into sexual slavery, arbitrary detention, murder, torture, rape, enslavement, and enforced disappearance.
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The report says that the EU supports the Libyan coast guard which found to be working “in close coordination” with trafficking networks in Libya with the exploitation of vulnerable migrants generating “significant revenue”.
“The support given by the EU to the Libyan coast guard in terms of pull-backs, pushbacks, (and) interceptions led to violations of certain human rights,” investigator Chaloka Beyani told reporters. “You can’t push back people to areas that are unsafe, and the Libyan waters are unsafe for the embarkation of migrants.”
He said the European bloc and its member states weren’t found to be responsible for war crimes, but “the support given has aided and abetted the commission of the crimes.”(Agencies)