According to a UN report seen by the Malta Today newspaper, a Libyan Coast Guard ship intercepted a group of 108 migrants who tried to sail to Malta. The personnel on board began to load them onto the ship, and threatened to shoot any migrants that tried to escape. One of the casualties of this operation was a newborn baby, who fell into the water after it was “thrown” from the migrant boat to the ship.
The UN found several violations of international human rights law by Libyan state entities, but also held the European Union and its member states responsible for funding and supporting these abuses, according to Malta Today.
The report noted that Malta and Italy have long been warned about violations at sea, in detention centres, along trafficking routes, and in trafficking hubs. “Nonetheless, in accordance with memorandums of understanding between Libya and third states, the Libyan authorities have continued their policy of intercepting and returning migrants to Libya, where their mistreatment resumes, in violation of the principle of non-refoulment,” the report said.
“Based on the substantial evidence and reports before it, the Mission found grounds to believe that the European Union and its member states, directly or indirectly, provided monetary, technical, and logistical support to the Libyan Coast Guard (LCG) and Department for Combating Illegal Immigration (DCIM) that was used in the context of interception and detention of migrants.”
Migrants who spoke with the UN mission recalled how LCG ships would make seemingly deliberate unsafe manoeuvres, leading the boat to capsize, or cause migrants to fall into the water and drown.
“The Mission also found reasonable grounds to believe that personnel on LCG ships shot at or near boats carrying migrants, causing migrants to jump into the water, seeking temporary safety. Migrants were often physically and verbally assaulted and threatened by LCG personnel, and other security officials during their transfer onto LCG ships and forced return to Libya.”
“An overwhelming number of interviewed migrants described to the Mission that they had attempted to escape detention and cross into Europe several times, some five to ten times over. Persons migrating to Europe were loaded, at times against their will, onto varied kinds of boats. Some of the boats were barely seaworthy and overloaded by smugglers and traffickers, ultimately resulting in their sinking at sea and a loss of life,” the report said.