"Libya: The Hounding of Migrants Must Stop’ is a joint report by FIDH, Migreurop and Justice Without Borders for Migrants (JWBM). It is the result of three investigation missions led since the beginning of 2012 to gather information on the current situation of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in the country.
Press conference for the launch of the report
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Programme of the Press Conference
- Introduction: Franziska Brantner (Greens/ALE, Germany)
- Ms. Geneviève Jacques, Member of the FIDH and CIMADE International Boards
- Ms. Caroline Intrand, Migreurop
- Father Mussie Zérai, Director of the Habeshia agency
- Questions and answers
A new report exposes widespread violations of the human rights of immigrants in Libya, at the hands of militia groups, acting outside the control of the national authorities. Victims of arbitrary arrests and detention, for unlimited periods, they are held in improvised detention camps in inhuman and degrading conditions. The publication analyses the shared responsibility of local, national and international actors. It highlights, in particular, the role of the European Union and Member States, as they negotiate new cooperation agreements with Libya which continue to place the objective of controlling migratory flows above considerations of human rights. Finally, the report underlines the responsibility of migrants’ states of origin towards their citizens in Libya.
Biographies
Caroline Intrand is a lawyer who specialises in asylum and migration issues in Europe for CIRE. She worked during several years on migrant detention and on the European politicy of externalising migration management. She now concentrates on Roma and the European border management policy.
Rev. Fr. Mussie Zerai was born in Asmara in Eritrea in 1975 and became a Catholic Priest in 2010 in the Vatican City. He has been working in the field of human rights since 1995 and is the founder and Chairman of Habeshia Agency, established in 2006, which provides support and assistance to migrants and refugees. Since September 2011, he is the national coordinator for the pastoral care of Catholic Eritreans and Ethiopians in Switzerland. He is in regular contact with migrants in Libya.
More information in this article.
Geneviève Jacques is Chargée de mission for the International Bureau of the FIDH and former Secretary General of the Cimade. She was made Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur in 2008. Her areas of expertise include political refugees, the rights of foreigners, impunity, international migration, and women’s rights in Latin America. She is the author of two books on the issue of impunity, "Beyond Impunity, an ecumenical perspective on issues of truth, justice and reconciliation" (WCC Publications, 2001) and "Human rights and impunity for economic crimes" (Editions du Cerf, 2009). She regularly participates in international missions and visited the Tunisian and Egyptian borders with Libya in March-April 2011.