The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, better known under the name EUROPOL, formerly the European Police Office and Europol Drugs Unit, is the law enforcement agency of the European.
By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
The International Criminal Court and the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (EUROPOL) have enhanced coordination efforts regarding serious crimes against migrants in Libya. During a briefing Monday with the United Nations Security Council regarding the situation in Libya, ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said:
“Regarding the ongoing victimisation of migrants in Libya, the Office has concretely enhanced cooperation, coordination and the exchange of information and expertise with national authorities and EUROPOL under the Office’s Strategic Goal 6 in order to advance our respective work and investigations. I call on partners to intensify their efforts in this regard with the aim of strengthening our collective efforts in addressing impunity for serious crimes against migrants in Libya. In particular, relations with EUROPOL on matters of mutual interest have been enhanced. Fruitful engagements with the Panel of Experts on Libya as well as the Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Libya have also greatly facilitated sharing of knowledge and expertise.”
-ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda
Despite the armed conflict and insecurity, Libya remains both a destination and transit country for foreign nationals fleeing conflict, persecution and poverty, and/or seeking better life opportunities, according to Amnesty International. According to data gathered by IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix, between March and April 2020, some 600,000 refugees and migrants lived in Libya, mainly from Niger (21%), Egypt (16%), Chad (16%), Sudan (13%) and Nigeria (8%).21 A total of 46,247 individuals were registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN Refugee Agency, as of September 2020. Refugees and migrants are generally deprived of their liberty following interception or rescue at sea and disembarkation by the LCG in western Libya. According to the IOM, from January to 14 September 2020, 8,435 refugees and migrants were returned to Libya following attempts to cross the Mediterranean. Thousands have been transferred into the custody of the DCIM following disembarkation and placed in detention centres where they have been held indefinitely and arbitrarily, in violation of international law. Thousands more remain unaccounted for amid fears for their lives and safety. Many have been subjected to enforced disappearance in unofficial places of detention by state-affiliated militias, who refuse to provide any information on their fate and whereabouts. – Amnesty International
“I urge all parties to the conflict in Libya to immediately put an end to the use of detention facilities to mistreat and commit crimes against civilians and persons hors de combat. International law and the Rome Statute prohibit the use of detention facilities in this manner. I reiterate the critical importance for international observers and investigators to be given full access to all detention facilities in Libya and to receive full cooperation in this regard.”
-ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda
