Frontex: Obligation to Inform Libya’s Coast Guard About Migrant Boats

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Frontex: Obligation to Inform Libya's Coast Guard About Migrant Boats

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The head of Frontex, the European Union’s border and coast guard agency, reiterated on Tuesday that the agency must inform Libyan authorities about migrant boats in distress in the country’s waters and will continue to do so. This statement comes after a German charity, SOS Humanity, accused Libya’s coast guard of threatening its crew during a rescue operation in the Mediterranean Sea.

According to SOS Humanity, the Libyan coast guard fired live bullets and used violence during the rescue, forcing several migrants aboard unseaworthy boats to jump into the water. The charity managed to rescue 77 people, but others were forced onto a coast guard vessel, leading to the separation of some family members. Tragically, at least one migrant drowned.

Frontex monitors the EU’s external borders, including international waters, using aircraft, drones, and other equipment. Libya’s extensive search and rescue area in the Mediterranean extends well beyond its maritime border to almost halfway to the Italian island of Lampedusa.

Frontex’s executive director, Hans Leijtens, emphasized that the agency is obligated by international law to report such incidents to the “appropriate authorities,” which includes the Libyan authorities if the incident occurs in their search and rescue zone. Not informing them, he stated, would jeopardize the lives of migrants by potentially withholding lifesaving assets.

The EU has been funding the Libyan coast guard since 2015 to prevent migrants from reaching Italy from the North African country. As part of this arrangement, the coast guard intercepts migrants in both Libyan and international waters and returns them to Libya.

Libya has been in turmoil since a NATO-backed uprising led to the ousting and killing of longtime autocrat Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. Over the years, there have been numerous reports of abuses by the coast guard and detention center staff on land.

While some EU countries argue that charity ships rescuing migrants at sea encourage more people to attempt the journey to Europe, Leijtens stressed the importance of cooperation with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in saving lives.

Frontex, however, lacks the mandate, sufficient funds, and equipment to conduct rescue operations, according to Leijtens.