Italy’s Meloni in Libya to further expand cooperation on migration

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni insists on tackling migration by increasing cooperation with North African countries as she visited Libya’s two rival administrations on Tuesday, while human rights activists call for Italy to stop financing Libyan militias.

Arriving in Libya on Tuesday, Meloni met with Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Rahman al-Dbeibeh and President of the Libyan Presidential Council Mohamed Yunus al-Menfi.

According to sources in the Italian Prime Minister’s Office, Meloni prioritised migration as a key discussion issue. She reportedly stressed the need for Italy and Libya to continue on the path they have embarked on, as it has already yielded significant results, and to have proposed further expanded cooperation on the issue.

Meloni is also reported to have called Libya to be involved in working groups of the so-called Rome Process, with the first concrete projects to be identified in the coming weeks.

Launched by Meloni last summer, the Rome Process aims to coordinate collective action on migration policy, addressing root causes such as conflict, economic hardship and climate change while fighting human traffickers.

Over the past year, Meloni has actively facilitated dialogue between the European Union and Libya, in line with the government’s broader efforts to reshape EU-North Africa relations, particularly on migration.

According to the Interior Ministry, irregular migrant arrivals from Libya to Italy totalled at least 8,271 in the first months of 2024, a significant decrease compared to the same period in 2023, when 18,022 arrivals were recorded.

However, experts suggest that Libyan traffickers may have redirected some departures from Italy to Greece, as evidenced by a sharp increase in arrivals on Greek islands.

On the day of Meloni’s visit to Libya, the NGO Mediterranea Saving Humans called for an “end to Italian financing of Libyan militias” and condemned what it views as complicity in human rights abuses.

“In the coming hours, the Italian Parliament is poised to once again approve shameful funding for the Libyan regime in exchange for the capture and detention of migrants in that country, preventing them from seeking asylum in Europe,” the NGO said on X.

Mediterranea Saving Humans claims that “since 2017, this pact between Italy and Libya has condemned thousands of women, men, and children to death, torture, and various forms of suffering.”

To engage with all Libyan stakeholders, Meloni also visited Benghazi to meet with General Khalifa Belqasim Omar Haftar, leader of the Libyan Arab National Army.

Sources from Meloni’s office reiterated the prime minister’s commitment to Libya’s stability, including support for UN-mediated efforts towards consensus on upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.

Libya is currently governed by two rival political-military coalitions: the UN-supported government of National Unity in Tripoli, led by al-Dbeibeh, and the National Stability Government in Benghazi, led by Osama Saad Hammad Saleh, backed by General Haftar.

(Alessia Peretti | Euractiv.it)

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