On Saturday, the National Commission for Human Rights in Libya (NCHRL) called on the Libyan Presidential Council and the Government of National Unity (GNU) to nullify the Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) on migration that were signed by the outgoing Government of National Accord (GNA) with Italy and Malta in 2017 and 2020.
In a statement, the Commission explained that the agreements contradict international law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, let alone their repercussions on Libya as a result of the interception of migrant boats in the Mediterranean Sea and off the Libyan coast.
It noted that keeping those intercepted migrants in Libya requires security and social commitments by the state.
The NCHRL reiterated its rejection of any proposal, protocol, agreement, political or legal memorandum through which migrants, refugees and asylum seekers would be returned or resettled in Libya.
The Commission also expressed its great concern about the fate of African migrants and refugees who are still in Libya after returning from Europe. They confirmed that many are being subjected to sexual assaults, torture and violence by armed groups that control some parts of the Western region in Libya.
The NCHRL also denounced the European Union’s (EU) silence over the risks suffered by migrants in Libya, calling on all EU countries to shoulder their legal and humanitarian responsibility to end sufferings of those migrants in the North African country.