They aim to end cooperation with Libya over human rights abuses.

On Wednesday, an alliance of 13 organizations dedicated to rescuing migrants at sea announced the creation of the “Justice Fleet,” which will suspend communication with the Libyan Coast Guard in an effort to prevent deportations to Libya, where migrants’ rights are not respected.

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The initiative, supported by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights and the organization Refugees in Libya, seeks to combine legal, political and public strategies to defend human rights and uphold international maritime law.

The alliance includes German, Italian, Spanish and French organizations such as Salvamento Maritimo Humanitario, Alliance Members CompassCollective, Louise Michel, Mediterranea Saving Humans, Mission Lifeline, Pilotes Volontaires, RESQSHIP, r42-Sail And Rescue, Sea-Eye, SEA PUNKS, Sea-Watch, SOS Humanity and Tutti gli Occhi sul Mediterraneo.

“This is an alliance of 13 NGOs… to fight together and resist political attacks. We want to stand united against state crimes, strengthen solidarity networks with people trapped in Libya, resist political attacks and defend human rights,” said Sea-Watch member Giulia Messmer. The alliance also aims to “create public and legal pressure for political change,” she added.

The Fleet of Justice announced plans to end operational communication with the Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Tripoli (JRCC), which oversees the Libyan Coast Guard.

The organizations argue that the JRCC is not a competent authority because it “fails to comply with international standards: it is not available 24 hours a day, lacks linguistic capacity and does not have the technical infrastructure required to coordinate rescue operations.”

The NGOs acknowledged that interrupting such operational communication could lead to fines, arrests or even the confiscation of rescue assets by the Italian government.

“With this step, rescue organizations unanimously reject the growing pressure from the EU and its member state, Italy, to communicate with the Libyan Coast Guard,” said Messmer, noting that the Libyan force has committed more than 60 acts of “extreme violence in the past 10 years.”

She accused both Italy and the EU of being “complicit” in crimes against humanity by training and supplying equipment to Libyan militias.

Messmer also lamented that other coastal European countries, such as Malta, are “completely failing” to meet their international rescue obligations.

NGO representatives stressed that Libya is not a safe place for refugees, as documented for years through “systematic violence perpetrated by the self-proclaimed Libyan Coast Guard — a decentralized network of armed militias equipped and trained with EU funds, particularly from Italy.”

“Refugees are violently intercepted at sea, abducted and taken to camps where torture, rape and forced labor are systematic practices. European courts and UN institutions have long recognized this organized violence, which, according to legal experts, constitutes crimes against humanity,” the NGOs said.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

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