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WORLD NEWS Monday 3 June 2019

Legal document alleges EU migrant ‘crimes against humanity’

By LORI HINNANT gration, but where are all
Associated Press those young people that
PARIS (AP) — More than they picked up. They’re in
40,000 people have been the prisons. They’re in Libya
intercepted in the Mediter- and in prisons, and they’re
ranean and taken to de- being tortured over there.
tention camps and torture If they aren’t allowed in
houses under a European Europe, then let them go
migration policy that is re- back to their countries
sponsible for crimes against quickly and under good
humanity, according to a conditions,” said Kaba,
legal document Monday who has asylum in France.
asking the International “There are no more en-
Criminal Court to take the trances or exits.”
case. Citing public Euro- The EU has repeatedly ac-
pean Union documents, knowledged that the treat-
statements from the French ment of migrants in Libya is
president, the German of great concern, although
chancellor and other top it has declined to waiver
European Union officials, in its support for the Libyan
the document alleges that coast guard.
European Union officials The ICC is a court of last re-
are knowingly responsible sort that handles cases of
for deaths at land and sea, war crimes, crimes against
and widespread rape and In this April 11 2019 file photo, Lawyer Juan Branco who co-authored a legal document alleging humanity and genocide
torture at the hands of a crimes against humanity by the European Union as he speaks during an interview with The when other countries are
Libyan coast guard funded Associated Press in Paris, France. unwilling or unable to pros-
and trained at the expense Associated Press ecute.
of European taxpayers. It decision to end the Mare and in 2016 peaked at Alpha Kaba, a Guinean Libya’s role in the migrant
names no EU official but Nostrum rescue operation over 5,100 deaths and dis- who was detained in con- crisis is already on the radar
cites an ongoing ICC inves- near the close of 2014. In appearances, according ditions that amounted to of the court’s chief pros-
tigation into the fate of mi- one year, the operation to figures from the Interna- slavery in Libya before ulti- ecutor, Fatou Bensouda. In
grants in Libya. rescued 150,810 migrants in tional Organization for Mi- mately making the crossing a statement to the Security
“We leave it to the pros- the Mediterranean as hun- gration. in 2016, that decision is a Council in May 2017, she
ecutor, if he dares, if she dreds of thousands crossed “The objective of this new travesty. said that her investigators
dares, to go into the struc- the sea. The operation cost policy was to sacrifice the Kaba was rescued by a were collecting and ana-
tures of power and to in- more than 9 million euros a lives of many in order to ship operated by humani- lyzing “information relating
vestigate at the heart of month, nearly all paid for by impact the behavior of tarian organizations. Those to serious and widespread
Brussels, of Paris, of Berlin Italy. It was replaced by an more,” according to the are all but gone now from crimes allegedly commit-
and Rome and to see by operation named Triton, fi- complaint. “It also failed. the Mediterranean, after ted against migrants at-
searching in the archives nanced by all 28 EU nations Crossings did not decrease coastal countries repeat- tempting to transit through
of the meetings of the ne- at a fraction of the cost. But as predicted, because the edly refused to allow them Libya.” She told the coun-
gotiations who was really unlike the earlier operation, risk had little deterrent ef- to dock with migrants on cil: “I am deeply alarmed
behind the scenes trying Triton ships didn’t patrol di- fect on those who have board. And in the past two by reports that thousands
to push for these policies rectly off the Libyan coast, little to lose to begin with.” years migration has consid- of vulnerable migrants, in-
that triggered the death of the origin of most of the It was at that point that erably to Europe. The total cluding women and chil-
more than 14000 people,” flimsy boats that were tak- EU countries turned to the for the first four months of dren, are being held in
said Juan Branco, a lawyer ing off for Europe. Libyan coast guard, send- 2019 was around 24,200 detention centers across
who co-wrote the report Deaths in the Mediter- ing money and boats and for irregular migration, 27% Libya in often inhumane
and shared it with The As- ranean soared. In 2014, a degree of training to units lower than a year ago, ac- conditions. Crimes, includ-
sociated Press. around 3,200 migrants died of the loosely organized cording to Frontex, the EU’s ing killings, rapes and tor-
The first crime, according in the sea. The following force linked to various fac- border agency. ture, are alleged to be
to the document, was the year, it rose to over 4,000, tions of Libya’s militias. For “Yes, there’s no more mi- commonplace.”q