Italian Foreign Minister, Luigi Di Maio announced that he will visit Libya in the coming weeks, stressing Rome’s interest in the situation in Libya and the activities of the Libyan Coast Guard in the Mediterranean.
“Italy has not, and will not fund the Libyan Coast Guard,” Di Maio told the Italian House on Wednesday, after several NGO’s called for Italian funding to be halted due to “a constant massacre of migrants in the central Mediterranean, and a cycle of violence, exploitation, and violation of human rights systematically endured by migrants and refugees in Libya.”
Di Maio said “the strengthening of the Libyan authorities’ capacity to conduct search and rescue operations in their own areas of responsibility, respecting international norms, is one of the lines pursued by the Italian government. It fits into the framework of initiatives to encourage a management of migrant flows that is more respectful of international standards on irregular flows by Libya, and to combat the trafficking of human beings.”
The Libyan Coast Guard was criticized after video footage emerged showing one of its vessels chasing and firing warning shots at a migrant boat on 30 June. Libyan authorities acknowledged the vessel’s actions endangered the lives of migrants, and vowed to hold those responsible to account.
At least 1,146 people have perished between January and June 2021, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) The number of people attempting to cross the Mediterranean to Europe increased by 58% this year, the IOM’s report said.