The fourth anniversary of the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between Italy and Libya

On the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between Italy and Libya, Amnesty International denounced the arbitrary arrests, kidnappingkidnappings, and violence against refugees and migrants in the North African country, with the complicity and silence of Italian institutions.

In 2020, 11,265 refugees and migrants were intercepted at sea by the Libyan Coast Guard and returned to Libya. Almost all of them were immediately transferred to official detention centers or other places of captivity, where they were arbitrarily detained for long periods and exposed to the risk of torture and ill-treatment.

As Amnesty International has repeatedly pointed out, over the past four years Italy has provided its assistance - in particular employing patrol boats, training in the coastguard, support forsupporting the declaration of a search and rescue area (SAR) in Libya, and coordination of operations at sea - without worrying in the slightest about the consequences for people brought back to Libya and locked up in detention centers or disappeared into thin air.

To reduce the number of irregular landings in Italy, the Italian authorities have been complicit in the abominable crimes under international law committed in detention centers, under international law which could have been widely anticipated. Even when they are at liberty, refugees and migrants trapped in Libya remain at constantat risk of killings, kidnappings, robberies, violence, and exploitation by armed militias or criminal gangs that enjoy complete impunity.

Although fully aware of the suffering caused by the application of the Memorandum, a year ago the Italian Government renewed it for a further period of three years.