Understanding Europe’s Crimes in Libya, North, East Africa and the Mediterranean Sea

Date: 18 November 2025

Venue: Auditorium - International University of East Africa (IUEA), Kampala, Uganda. 

Format: One-day symposium with exhibition, film screening, and panel discussions. 

Host: Refugees in Libya, in collaboration with IUEA Faculty of Law and invited partners. 

Lead Speaker: David Yambio, Community Advocate, Human Rights defender and co-founder of Refugees in Libya. 

Expected Number of attendees:  300 to 500 students, not limited to law students. 

Entrance: Open and Free to every student.

Concept 

For more than a decade, Libya has been the epicentre of grave crimes against humanity targeting refugees and migrants. Arbitrary detention, torture, sexual violence, slavery, and starvation have been widely documented — not only as actions of Libyan militias and state agencies, but also as a system built and sustained by European policies. Through funding, training, and technical support, Europe has externalised its borders into Africa, creating a chain of violence from the desert to the sea. 

This event seeks to unmask Europe’s complicity, by combining firsthand testimony, visual documentation, academic reflection, and legal debate. It will also highlight the birth of Refugees in Libya, a refugee-led political movement that challenges both Libyan actors and European institutions, while campaigning for justice and accountability at national and international ​level. 

The symposium will also question the limits of international justice systems such as the ICC and EU courts, and ask what it means for Africa to build its own mechanisms capable of holding Europe accountable. A special discussion will address the recent Netherlands–Uganda proposal to transfer rejected asylum seekers, situating it in the broader framework of border externalisation and asking what role African and European civil society must play in resisting such ideas. 

Printed and digital materials will be available, including The Book of Shame by Refugees in Libya, Niger, and Tunisia, as well as other reports on the situation of refugees and migrants in North Africa. 

Program Draft — 18 November 2025

09:00 – 09:30 | Registration & Exhibition Opening

Exhibition: ​Glimpses ​of ​Refugee ​Human ​Rights ​Defenders ​in ​Libya 

Photography, testimonies, and campaign material from Refugees in Libya 

09:30 – 10:00 | Opening Session

Welcome ​by ​IUEA ​Dean ​Faculty ​of ​Law 

Keynote introduction: David Yambio - From Libya’s prisons to political organising: Why we speak. 

10:00 – 11:30 | Session 1 — Crimes Against Humanity in Libya

Testimonies ​and ​evidence ​from ​Refugees ​in ​Libya 

Presentation ​of ​UN ​Fact-Finding ​Mission ​findings ​(2023) 

Discussion on Europe’s financial, technical, and political role in sustaining the system Moderated Q&A. 

11:30 – 11:45 | Coffee/Tea Break

11:45 – 13:00 | Session 2 — The Birth of Refugees in Libya as a Political Movement Presentation by Refugees in Libya on organising in Tripoli, protests, and international campaigns.

Reflections ​on ​refugee-led ​activism ​as ​resistance 

Dialogue with IUEA law students on the meaning of self-representation. 

13:00 – 14:00 | Lunch Provided 

The Lunch expenses will be covered by Refugees In Libya through the International University of East Africa Law Society organizing committee. 

14:00 – 15:30 | Session 3 — Documentary Screenings

The Desert Dumps (DW Documentary). The documentary sheds light on the dramatic consequences of European refugee policy, shows exclusively how EU-funded security forces in North Africa systematically take people to the desert and what responsibility Europe's governments have. Short audience reflection. 

15:30 – 16:15 | Session 4 — The Netherlands–Uganda Proposal & Civil Society’s Role

Presentation on the Netherlands’ plan to transfer rejected asylum seekers to Uganda 

Analysis of border externalisation in East Africa and its dangers Discussion: the role of African and European civil society in resisting such deals 

Speakers: David Yambio, Ndagire Joshirah Joanita (Survivor | C.E.O/Founder Mwagale Foundation | Human trafficking and modern slavery consultant), Ugandan legal experts, NGO representatives, student voices. 

16:15 – 17:15 | Session 5 — International Justice in Question

Panel ​discussion: ​'Can ​Europe ​be ​held ​accountable?'

- Limits of ICC, European Court of Human Rights, European Court of Justice 

- African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the need for African accountability systems 

- Refugees ​in ​Libya’s ​own ​legal ​and ​political ​strategies 

Panelists: David Yambio + IUEA law Lecturers + invited International law experts. 

17:15 – 17:30 | Closing Remarks

Summary ​of ​discussions 

Call ​for ​solidarity ​with ​refugee-led ​movements 

Exhibition re-opening for evening viewing.