To: Magnus Brunner and Dubravka Šuica

CC: Ursula von der Leyen, António Costa, and Roberta Metsola

Dear Magnus Brunner and Dubravka Šuica,

On 24 August, the Libyan Coast Guard opened fire without warning on rescue ship Ocean Viking, operated by humanitarian maritime organization SOS MEDITERRANEE in international waters.

Coastguards fired a significant number of rounds in an assault which endangered the lives of over thirty crew members and eighty-seven survivors rescued from distress at sea. Analysis of the attack indicates that it was carried out from a boat transferred by Italy to the Libyan Coast Guard under the EU-funded SIBMMIL programme.

The attack is part of a long pattern of violence against people in distress at sea as well as humanitarian workers for which the perpetrators have remained unaccountable in Libya. While the European Commission stated that Libyan authorities are investigating the incident, weeks after the attack, there is no indication that cooperation, or technical and financial assistance, has been suspended during the course of this investigation.

The Libyan Coast Guard does not comply with the standards required to make it a legitimate search and rescue (SAR) actor, and is involved in violent attacks on people in distress during interceptions, as found by the Italian judiciary. Eight years of EU support has not improved this actor’s human rights records, but enabled and legitimised abuses, in violation of Article 29 of the NDICI regulation – which excludes activities that may result in human rights violations from EU funding.

While the EU and Member States’ cooperation with Libya are officially motivated by the need to save lives closer to Libyan shores, in reality, it prevents people seeking safety from reaching Europe. This involves steps by Libyan actors receiving EU funding and support to return people by force to a place where relevant UN mechanisms and many others have found evidence of inhumane acts at a scale amounting to crimes against humanity. This system leaves people seeking protection with two choices: risking death at sea or arbitrary detention, torture and extortion in Libya.

Despite overwhelming evidence, the Commission has denied that support to Libyan forces directly enables the perpetration of said human rights violations. Yet, it has committed maladministration by refusing to disclose the “do-no harm” assessments of its Libya projects, according to the EU Ombudsman.

This disastrous strategy has persisted for over a decade. It has cost lives, and it is high time that EU institutions stop tolerating unjustifiable attacks against people in distress at sea, and European citizens carrying out humanitarian work, by Libyan authorities funded by European taxpayers. This culture of impunity for violence has led to an erosion of respect for human rights and international and maritime law, and an escalation of aggression.
This year’s State of the EU address underlined the EU’s intention to seek a greater geopolitical role, as the bearer of values and standards in a turbulent world. To be taken seriously internationally in such an endeavour, words must match actions, starting near home.

Human lives must not be disregarded in the name of border control. The European Commission must restore the rule of law at its maritime border; suspend cooperation with Libya without further delay; urge Italy to terminate its 2017 Memorandum of Understanding with Libya; and urge other Member States to refrain from similar agreements. It must finance and coordinate a state-led European search and rescue programme in the Central Mediterranean. It must support states in opening safe routes for refugees and migrants to escape Libya, and reduce their reliance on dangerous routes. Finally, it must ensure that victims of the gross human rights abuses committed by EU-backed Libyan actors can access justice and reparation.