Migrants in Libya Pay the Price for Haftar’s Financial Crisis

According to Nour Khalil, director of Refugees Platform in Egypt, “the continued European Union funding of dictatorial governments and armed militias in order to suppress migration has led to dangerous uses of this funding at the expense of migrants’ rights and lives.” Khalil noted that irregular migration has become a political pressure card used by these governments to blackmail the West and demand more political and financial support. He described the recent and ongoing security campaign against migrants in Libya, full of violations of their rights, as one face of this misuse caused by unaccountable EU and member-state funding and the absence of monitoring and accountability mechanisms. He considered it part of Europe’s plan to extend its borders and block migrants outside the European fortress, a plan that will not stop migration but will only obstruct it temporarily while greatly increasing the danger of the journey and the violations committed against migrants.