National Human Rights Committee: The Libyan Coast Guard is complicit with Italy and Malta in “forcibly” returning migrants to Libya

The head of the National Human Rights Committee, Ahmed Hamza, accused the Libyan Coast Guard of colluding with Italy and Malta in forcibly returning illegal immigrants to Libya, and preventing them from reaching Europe in any way.

Hamza explained in statements to the Arab World News Agency that the Libyan Coast Guard deals poorly with migrant boats, and there are also cases of failure to respond to distress calls from boats that have been in danger.

He added, “The Coast Guard obstructs the work of humanitarian relief organizations working in search and rescue in the open Mediterranean, in collusion with the Italian and Maltese sides, and carries out forced returns of migrants, whether they are found on the Libyan coast or in Libyan territorial waters.”

Hamza described European support for the Libyan Coast Guard as negligible, and that it is merely “a speck of dust in the eyes, and a small thing in comparison to the many suffering and challenges that Libya is suffering regarding this issue.”

He concluded by saying, “Continuing Western aid or support, or stopping it significantly, will not make any difference, because it does not meet the level of support required to help Libya, to ensure stopping illegal immigration flows.”