STOP THE MEMORANDUM ITALY-LIBYA

Manifesto by Refugees in Libya and Alliance with Refugees in Libya

On February 2017 a Memorandum of Understatement (MoU) was signed by the Italian and Libyan governments on “fighting illegal migration”. This agreement, with the support of European Union funding and coordination by Frontex, has trained, financed and equipped Libyan forces who have systematically abducted, arbitrarily detained, tortured, enslaved, killed and raped migrants and we, Refugees in Libya, are among its victims. Through this agreement, Italy and the EU are currently aiding and abetting the perpetration of crimes against humanity in Libya. We hold them directly accountable for purposefully creating a racist torturing environment in Libya as a xenophobic attempt to deter migration.

Even in Italy, this immoral agreement has led to a deterioration of the rule of law, with the Italian government ignoring an International Criminal Court arrest warrant and instead illegally spying on human rights defenders. We, Refugees in Libya, have denounced, as witnesses and victims, the Italian state obstruction of justice when they released our torturer Osama Almasri. Our communications have been spied on by Italian secret services, as it has been ascertained in the Paragon case. We, the victims, strictly controlled by the Italian state, while the criminals are free to continue their acts.

The MoU has been violating our rights as refugees for eight years. But we believe that most Italian people do not agree with that. We believe that most Italians don’t want their taxes to be used to train and equip war criminals. We believe most Italians don’t want to force human beings into torture camps. That is why we call all those Italian citizens and politicians to support us. If nothing is done by November 2nd, 2025, the criminal MoU will be automatically renewed for three more years. We shall not let this happen.

But our demands go beyond just stopping harm. We ask for justice and reparations for all of us who were victims of Italian and EU policies in Libya. We want evacuation, protection and dignity. That is why we demand:

1-     STOP supporting our torturers. The training, equipping, financing and coordination of Libyan actors involved in crimes against refugees and migrants by Italy and the EU must end:

o   Cancel the renewal of the 2017 Italy-Libya Memorandum of Understanding

o   Suspend all EU-funded projects supporting Libyan criminal militias

o   Stop Frontex sending coordinates of refugee boats to Libyan criminal militias

2-     End Impunity! Victims and survivors of the abuses resulting from the MoU deserve justice and reparation. To achieve that, Italy must:

o   Issue humanitarian visas to Italy to all those refugees and migrants who have suffered abuses under MoU-supported Libyan criminals

o    Financially compensate all those refugees and migrants who have suffered abuses under MoU-supported Libyan criminals

o   Officially apologize for the harm caused

3-     Give alternatives to the refugees still in Libya to escape the dangerous environment you created. Instead of funding criminals, we demand that Italy and the EU:

o   Relaunch state-led search and rescue in the Mediterranean

o   Promote and expand humanitarian corridors and other legal ways to evacuate refugees to places of safety

o    Fund Libyan civil society organizations supporting migrant and refugee communities

We, Refugees in Libya, are not in our country of origin. But that does not make us less human. And the first step to recognize our humanity is to stop supporting our torturers. STOP THE MEMORANDUM!