EU faces calls to stop funding to Libya after ‘horrific’ migrant mass graves discovered

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and civil society groups, in a joint statement, expressed their shock and concern over the discovery of mass graves in southeastern Libya last week, calling it "shocking and horrific." They emphasized the need for immediate investigation and accountability for the perpetrators of these heinous acts.

The two mass graves contained the remains of sub-Saharan Africans, likely victims of human trafficking while transiting through Libya. Libyan authorities discovered 19 bodies in Jakharrah and 59 bodies in a mass grave in the Kufra district, a location near where they were allegedly detained and tortured. The sheer scale of these discoveries underscores the urgency of addressing human rights abuses in the region.

The United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) stated that police discovered the graves during a raid that rescued hundreds of abused migrants from human traffickers. The organization added that some bodies had gunshot wounds and that "up to 70 people" may be buried in Kufra. This revelation highlights the brutal reality faced by migrants at the hands of criminal networks.

Libyan authorities stated that three people had been arrested, "one Libyan and two foreigners." Meanwhile, notorious Libyan warlord Osama Najim Al-Masri was released by Italy shortly after being detained on an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant. The arrest and subsequent release raise questions about international cooperation in prosecuting those responsible for human rights violations.

Al-Masri is accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, torture, rape, and sexual violence against detainees, particularly migrants and asylum seekers, while he was head of the Libyan Judicial Police Reform and Rehabilitation Agency, which managed various prisons. The severity of these allegations underscores the need for a thorough and impartial investigation.

MEP Tineke Strik said that the discovery of mass graves should sound a "wake-up call" to the European Commission to stop funding and cooperation projects with Libya. "The discovery of these mass graves is again a horrific confirmation of the crimes against humanity that migrants face in Libya, committed by state security forces and armed militia groups," Strik said. She urged the EU to reassess its approach to migration management in Libya.

Signatories to the joint statement include Human Rights Watch, various search and rescue missions, and rights groups from Egypt, Greece, Tunisia, and Libya. "In Libya, the UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Libya and others have widely documented the torture and killing of migrants in detention, their abandonment at sea or in the desert, their subjection to conditions akin to slavery, starvation, and other serious human rights violations," the statement said. These widespread abuses demand immediate action and accountability.

"It is clear that the European Union (EU) funding for Libya on migration, as well as that of EU member states including Italy and France, has not delivered on its promise of improving the situation for people seeking safety." Last March, the bodies of 65 migrants were found in a mass grave in the southwest of the country. In 2022, the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Libya released a damning report detailing widespread human rights abuses against refugees and migrants. The report called for urgent reforms to address the systemic issues that enable these abuses.

The EU donated $487 million to Libya through the Emergency Trust Fund for Africa between 2015 and 2021, with operations expected to continue until the end of 2025. In 2023, the EU handed over five vessels to the Libyan Coast Guard. These actions raise concerns about the EU's complicity in the human rights abuses faced by migrants in Libya.

"The grim reality of the new mass graves discovered in Libya proves once again that, after more than a decade of EU support for Libyan security forces, people seeking safety continue to face deadly and inhumane conditions," said David Yambio of Refugees in Libya. He emphasized the need for a fundamental shift in the EU's approach to migration management in Libya, prioritizing the protection of human rights above all else.