Human Rights Watch (HRW) has formally called on the Italian government to terminate the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in Tripoli concerning cooperation on migration matters. The organisation asserts that the pact has directly caused suffering for thousands of migrants forcibly returned to Libya over the past years.
HRW clarified that the 2017 agreement is set for automatic renewal on 2 November 2025 unless it is either cancelled or substantially amended before that deadline.
The organisation confirmed that Italy has provided extensive material and technical support to the Libyan Coast Guard, which operates under the Government of National Unity. This assistance has enabled the Libyan forces to intercept and return tens of thousands of migrants at sea back to Libya, where they face documented torture, abuse, and grave human rights violations in detention centres.
The report also noted instances where the Libyan Coast Guard has threatened and even fired upon humanitarian rescue vessels, citing the recent incidents involving the Ocean Viking and Sea-Watch during August and September.
Judith Sunderland, the organisation’s Associate Director for Europe and Central Asia, stated that the memorandum has “become a framework for violence and suffering, and must be cancelled, not renewed.” She urged Italy and the European Union to cease all collaboration with Libyan entities implicated in migrant abuses.
HRW further underscored that the United Nations has documented evidence suggesting complicity between Libyan government forces and human trafficking networks. It pointed out that certain practices within detention facilities may constitute crimes against humanity, including enslavement, rape, arbitrary detention, and extrajudicial killing.
The human rights group concluded its statement by insisting that the continued backing of Libyan forces is unjustifiable, and called on the EU and Italy to fundamentally reform their Mediterranean policies to priorities migrant protection, rescue operations, and safe migration pathways.
