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Libyan Coast Guard

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Libyan Coast Guard
Emblem of the Libyan Coast Guard
Active1970–present
Country Libya
Branch Libyan Navy
TypeCoast guard
Size1,000 (As of 2015).[1]
Garrison/HQTripoli
Commanders
Current
commander		Commodore Abdallah Toumia
SpokesmanBrig. Ayoub Qassim
Insignia
Seal of Libyan Coast Guard
Naval ensign
Flag of the Libyan Navy
Libyan Coast Guard Racing Stripe

The Libyan Coast Guard is the coast guard of Libya. Organizationally part of the Libyan Navy, it operates as a proxy force of the European Union (EU) in order to prevent migrants from reaching the EU's borders.[2][3][4][5] As of 2015, the Libyan Coast Guard consists of over 1,000 personnel.[1] Since 2015, it has received $455 million in funding from the EU.[6] The Libyan Coast Guard is involved in human trafficking, enslavement, torture, and other human rights violations.[7]

History

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The foundation of the Libyan Coast Guard dates back to 1970 when the previously separate customs and harbor police were joined in a single command within the Libyan Navy and under the Ministry of Defense.[1] In 2006–2008 the Coast Guard fleet was renewed and equipped with 'stealth' 30-knot (56 km/h; 35 mph) cruising speed PV30-LS patrol boats designed and produced by the Croatian company Adria-Mar.[1][8] In 2017 the coast guard were criticised for failing to respond to ten vessels in distress.[9]

During the 2015 European migrant crisis, the Libyan Coast Guard intercepted refugee and migrant boats travelling across the Mediterranean Sea, per a funding agreement reached with Frontex, the European border agency. The interceptions have been criticised as "worsening the crisis" and in November 2021 were reported to result in 27,500 people being returned to detention centres.[10][11]

In May 2021, Salvatore Quinci, the mayor of Mazaro del Vallo, reported the second recent incident where fishermen were shot at by the coast guard, the later incident non fatality injuring one man.[12] In July 2021 the Libyan Coast Guard was criticised for chasing and then shooting at a migrant boat.[13] Later in July 2021, a former senior Libyan police officer accused the coast guard of robbing people, and of being people smugglers.[14] In November 2021, the coast guard threatened the German humanitarian vessel Sea Watch 4.[15]

Criticism of EU funding

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The EU policy of funding the Libyan Coast Guard has been criticised on the grounds that intercepted migrants face mistreatment. Reports of human rights abuses caused the German government to cease training the Libyan coast guard in 2023, yet EU funding continues.[16]

The United Nations high commissioner for human rights Zeid bin Ra'ad criticised the EU for funding the Libyan coast, calling the policy inhumane. He pointed to the conditions in Libyan Government refugee camps, in which migrants are held after interception. Visits by UN staff had shown these to be overcrowded and lacking basic necessities, refugees held at the camps reported sexual violence being committed by guards. [17]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Libyan Coast Guard". Global Security. 18 December 2017. Archived from the original on 24 February 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  2. ^ Urbina, Ian (21 November 2021). "Europe's border agency under fire for aiding Libya's brutal migrant detentions". NBC News. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  3. ^ Panebianco, Stefania (2020). "The EU and migration in the Mediterranean: EU borders' control by proxy". Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. 48 (6): 1398–1416. doi:10.1080/1369183X.2020.1851468. S2CID 234686316.
  4. ^ Heller, Charles; Pezzani, Lorenzo (2019). "Sea Watch vs the Libyan Coast Guard". Forensic Architecture. Archived from the original on 15 February 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  5. ^ Howden, Daniel; Fotiadis, Apostolis; Campbell, Zach (12 March 2020). "Revealed: the great European refugee scandal". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 15 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  6. ^ Karasapan, Omer (2 November 2021). "Libya's migrants and crimes against humanity". Brookings Institution. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  7. ^ Kalpouzos, Ioannis (2020). "International Criminal Law and the Violence against Migrants". German Law Journal. 21 (3): 571–597. doi:10.1017/glj.2020.24. ISSN 2071-8322. S2CID 216289557.
  8. ^ Moskaljov, Vanja. "Adria-Mar modernizira libijske brodove za deset milijuna dolara". Večernji list. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  9. ^ "'It's a day off': wiretaps show Mediterranean migrants were left to die". the Guardian. 2021-04-16. Archived from the original on 2021-11-14. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
  10. ^ "How migrants and asylum seekers in Libya lost faith in foreign aid". The New Humanitarian. 2021-11-02. Archived from the original on 2021-11-14. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
  11. ^ "Pope: Don't send migrants back to Libya and 'inhumane' camps". AP NEWS. 2021-10-24. Archived from the original on 2021-11-14. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
  12. ^ Rome, AFP in (2021-05-06). "Italian fisher wounded after Libyan coastguard reportedly shot at boat". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 2021-11-14. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
  13. ^ "Caught on camera: Libyan coastguard shoots at migrant boat". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 2021-11-14. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
  14. ^ "[On board with SOS Méditerranée] Libyan police lieutenant: 'Coast guard are smugglers'". EUobserver. 5 July 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-11-14. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
  15. ^ "NGO: Libyan Coast Guard threatens German relief ship". 218 News. 2021-11-20. Archived from the original on 2021-11-20. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  16. ^ Jordans, Frank (2023-03-30). "Germany won't train Libyan coast guard due to alleged abuse". Associated Press. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
  17. ^ "EU's policy of helping Libya intercept migrants is 'inhuman', says UN". The Guardian. Nov 14, 2017. Retrieved Mar 5, 2024.
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