Europe 'Suspends' Libyan Search-And-Rescue After Decade of Funding It
European authorities are now 'suspending' contact with the Libyan Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, citing concerns over its methods and human rights record. This moral awakening comes after years of the EU actively funding and training the very Libyan coast guard that operates this centre, effectively outsourcing border control to militias notorious for torturing, extorting, and enslaving
migrants. (As documented extensively by Amnesty International and the UN, 2017-present). Brussels spent hundreds of millions of euros from 2017 to 2023 to enable Libya to intercept boats and return asylum seekers to unimaginable conditions. Now, with a new PR-friendly 'Justice Fleet,' they're suddenly shocked, shocked , to find human rights abuses in a system they meticulously constructed. One
might wonder if the real 'suspension' is of public accountability, not actual cooperation.