The Doctors Without Borders (MSF) charity organization said that the Irish government plans to send a naval patrol vessel to Libya, as part of the EU’s Operation IRINI. The charity has warned that Irish support should not include training for the Libyan Coast Guard.
According to Ireland’s Breaking News newspaper, the Irish government is seeking the support of the Dáil (Parliament) to send a Naval Service patrol vessel (LÉ William Butler Yeats) to IRINI for a period of 46 days, during June and July this year. The government is holding a vote scheduled for Wednesday evening, Ireland time.
Operation IRINI was launched on 31 March 2020, with the primary goal of enforcing the United Nations arms embargo on Libya. It is also responsible for training the Libyan Coast Guard to carry out these tasks.
MSF has raised “serious concerns” about the mission, due to the involvement of the Libyan Coast Guard. MSF claims the Libyan Coast Guard is intertwined with militias and armed groups that mistreat migrants.
In a letter to Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence, Micheál Martin, seen by BreakingNews.ie, the humanitarian organisation said the Libyan Coast Guard has used “abusive tactics” including shooting at migrant boats.
“At least one Detention Centre is under the direct control of the Libyan Coast Guard,” the letter states.
The letter highlights the report of the UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Libya, “which supports our direct experience that migrants, many of whom are returned to Libya by the Coast Guard, are facing grave human rights abuses.”
The letter asks the government to clarify the Irish Navy’s role in IRINI, and “refuse Irish Naval training of the Libyan Coast Guard at any time in the future, as part of Operation IRINI, and to make a statement on its decision.”
MSF pointed to Germany’s refusal to take part in the operation in 2022, “due to what their Foreign Ministry described as ‘repeated unacceptable behaviour by individual units of the Libyan coast guard toward refugees and migrants’.”
“MSF Ireland is concerned that any training of the Libyan Coast Guard as part of Operation IRINI will support a system that contributes to the forced return of people to Libya in this continued cycle of cruelty,” said Isabel Simpson, the executive director of MSF Ireland.