Amnesty International: EU Complicit In Migrant Abuse

Amnesty International has accused European governments of facilitating the abuse of migrants attempting to reach the continent from Libya. In a new report, the human rights organization claims that in an effort to stem the tide of migration, EU capitals are knowingly funding Libyan authorities, primarily the coastguard, who work with human traffickers and various armed groups. Libya has become the main passageway for migrants from across the region trying to reach European shores. The report asserts that the financial support has resulted in “mass arbitrary and detention” of refugees and migrants, some 20,000 of whom are currently forcibly being held in centers where they are subject to “torture, forced labor, extortion and unlawful killings.” Libya has descended into chaos since the NATO-backed ouster of longtime strongman Muammar Qaddafi in 2011, with competing governments in the east and west, backed by loyalist forces, unable to reach agreement to end the conflict. Amid widespread regional instability, millions of people have attempted to relocate to Europe from places like Syria and Afghanistan and increasingly from Sub-Saharan Africa. According to some estimates, as many as 35,000 migrants have drowned while making the treacherous journey through the Mediterranean since the 1990s.