Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday called on Italy to end its migration cooperation agreement with Libya, saying the arrangement “has proven to be a framework for violence and suffering, and should be revoked, not renewed.”

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the countries, first signed in February 2017, was part of Italy’s broader strategy to tighten its national borders. The agreement has allowed Italy to provide technical, logistical and financial support the Libyan Coast Guard, empowering them to intercept tens of thousands of people at sea and return them to Libya. However, NGOs have consistently documented how intercepted refugees and asylum seekers are routinely detained in inhumane conditions, where they face torture and other degrading treatment. 

In 2023, the UN Fact-Finding Mission in Libya found reasonable grounds to believe that high-ranking staff of the Libyan Coast Guard colluded with human traffickers and smugglers reportedly connected to militia groups. These officials allegedly demanded and received payments in exchange for the release of detained migrants 

Human rights organizations and refugee advocacy groups have consistently called for the termination of the agreement. Civil society networks, like Refugees in Libya, have mobilized efforts to stop renewal of the MOU, which is set to occur on November 2. 

Judith Sunderland, associate Europe and Central Asia director at HRW, urged the EU and all of its member states, including Italy, to “stop financing and legitimizing violence against migrants and fundamentally reorient [their] Mediterranean policies to prioritize rescue at sea and safe and legal pathways for migration.”  

The European Commission and Frontex will host a delegation of Libyan migration officials October 14-15. HRW has called on EU officials to use the opportunity to demand respect for human rights and accountability for abuses.