MIGRATION

European governments are “complicit” in grave human rights violations in Libya through their support for authorities there that often work with people smugglers and torture refugees and migrants, Amnesty International says. Nikolaj Nielsen reports. The EU and its respective member states are complicit in the abuse and torture of migrants in Libya, says Amnesty International. The NGO’s Europe director John …

Some 80 percent of migrants assisted in 2017 by the MEDU mobile clinic in Rome say had they suffered torture, abuse, serious deprivation, sexual violence or enslavement. Most of the mistreatment happened in Libya. In a year of activity in precarious settlements in the Italian capital, the Medici per i Diritti Umani (Doctors for Human Rights, or MEDU) organization found …

The wave of protests against the enslavement of African migrants in Libya continued on Saturday (9 December) with demonstrations in the British capital and the German city of Hamburg. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Libyan embassy in London to demand an end to slave auctions in the North African country. Carrying placards reading “End the Damn Slavery!!” and “Human …

Libya’s Prime Minister Fayez Mustafa al-Sarraj promised on Thursday to take action to ease the suffering of tens of thousands of migrants stranded in his North African country, even though it is still battling instability. Speaking after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, Al-Sarraj said the numbers of migrants are “staggering — we are talking about 500,000 migrants …

Black organisations in Hamburg are calling for a public demonstration in the Merchant city on Saturday (9 December) against the enslavement, torture, rape and murder of Africans in Libya. “The Black Community in Hamburg invites all Black organizations, groups, movements, activists and individuals and their friends and supporters to a demonstration in front of the political and consular representations of …

Germany wants rejected asylum-seekers to voluntarily leave the country and is offering incentives. The idea, outlined by Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, is meant to help with reintegration once back at home. The German government wants to encourage rejected asylum-seekers to voluntarily return to their home countries with a cash incentive, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere told newspaper Bild am …

Human rights campaign group Amnesty International has described the plan agreed by EU and African leaders in Abidjan last Thursday to evacuate migrants stranded in Libya as unworkable. Franziska Vilmar, who works on asylum law and policy at the German branch of Amnesty International, told the German international broadcaster DW at the weekend that the plan was “unrealistic because the …

European and African leaders have set themselves a tall order to stamp out horrific abuse of African migrants in Libya, where thousands are suffering in a vast, lawless territory. On Thursday, a summit of the African Union and European Union set a goal of immediately repatriating 3,800 migrants languishing in a camp near Tripoli. But experts point to a daunting …

Leaders taking part in the 5th EU-African Summit in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, have agreed to an emergency evacuation plan to return migrants stranded in Libya to their home countries. The EU along with the United Nations and the African Union on Wednesday agreed to jointly create a task force for Libya. A statement said its aim is to “save and …

Following harsh criticisms of its perceived indifference to the suffering of thousands of its citizens who are stranded in Libya, Nigeria’s federal government has finally swung into action. After meeting with heads of agencies in charge of migration in Abuja on Wednesday, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo announced that Nigeria was considering urgent and permanent solutions to the plight of Nigerians refugees …

Hundreds of people of African descent and their supporters marched through the streets of Cologne on Monday evening to express their anger and outrage at the widespread human rights violation of African migrants in Libya.   Speakers lament the racist treatment of Africans in North Africa pointing out that the CNN video footage of migrant auctioning was the tip of …

The EU-African Summit, bringing together African and European leaders in Abidjan from 29-30 November, is a chance to find a win-win solution, argues the International Crisis Group’s Elissa Jobson* Video footage of African migrants detained on their way to Europe being sold as slaves in Libya has provoked outrage and dismay in Africa and the wider international community. As a …

Dozens of families of Moroccan migrants detained in Libya protested in Rabat on Monday, November 27, calling on Moroccan authorities to help their relatives return home as soon as possible. Sana Elouazi reports from Rabat Gathered in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarter in Rabat, the demonstrators, who came from several Moroccan cities, lambasted the “slowness” of authorities, …

A new study released by the International Migration Organization has described the Mediterranean as the world’s deadliest border, revealing that more than 33,700 migrants have died or gone missing in the sea since 2000. The International Organization for Migration has released a report in which it concludes that Europe’s Mediterranean border is “by far the world’s deadliest.” The report, presented …

The Black Community in Germany has again called for a public protest action against the enslavement of African migrants in Libya. The event will take place on Monday (27 November) in the western German city of Cologne. Under the motto ‘Stop Enslavement in Libya!’, the event is expected to be attended by more than 1,000 people who are outraged by …

Modibo, a 16-year-old Malian who arrived in France a few weeks ago, wants to warn those planning to come to Europe about the reality of travelling via Libya. “You mustn’t venture there,” he says about Libya. “You mustn’t cross this country. You become an animal there.” The young, angry migrant would like other Africans thinking of travelling through Libya in …

President Alassane Ouattara has expressed his “disgust” at recent revelations over African migrants being sold as slaves in Libya, demanding that those guilty of these crimes be brought to justice by the International Criminal Court. President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire has said that condemning the auctioning of African migrants as slaves in Libya is not enough, calling for the …

CNN report showing trade in sub-Saharan migrants in Libya has sparked outrage in Africa and the global Black community. Protesters turned out in Berlin on Saturday to express their anger and make demands. More than 500 people gathered in front of the Libyan embassy in Berlin on Saturday (25 November) to express their outrage at the widespread violation of the …

Mali has blamed “external intervention” for the chaos that reigns throughout Libya given the NATO-led bombing campaign in 2011. Addressing the European Parliament on Wednesday (22 November) in Brussels, Abdoulaye Diop, Malian minister of foreign affairs, said the raids were “carried out without a strategic vision, without a plan, and without the ability to manage the consequences.” The bombing campaign …

Rwanda could host up to 30,000 African migrants currently stuck in Libya where they are exposed to all forms of abuse, including being sold openly in slave markets. Speaking with New Times, a Rwandan newspaper, on Thursday, Foreign Affairs Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said that talks were currently under way with the African Union Commission. Mushikiwabo said Rwanda, despite not having …