“While the European Commission stated that Libyan authorities are investigating the incident, weeks after the attack, there is no indication that cooperation, or technical and financial assistance, has been suspended during the course of this investigation,” the letter says.
The signatories — including Amnesty International, ActionAid, SOS Méditerranée, Emergency, Médecins Sans Frontières, Mediterranea Saving Humans, and Refugees in Libya — argue the assault exposes nearly a decade of failed EU policy.
“Eight years of EU support has not improved these actors’ human rights records, but enabled and legitimised abuses,” they warned, adding that “human lives must not be disregarded in the name of border control.”
The NGOs accuse the Commission of turning a blind eye “despite overwhelming evidence” of human rights violations by Libyan authorities; and of mismanaging its own programs by refusing to show the public the safety checks it conducts to ensure EU-funded projects do not harm people.
They demand that Brussels restores “the rule of law at its maritime border; suspend cooperation with Libya without further delay; urge Italy to terminate its 2017 Memorandum of Understanding with Libya; and urge other Member States to refrain from similar agreements.”
The appeal lands as Libya’s internal turmoil complicates European diplomacy. The country remains split between rival governments in Tripoli and Benghazi, backed by rival powers such as Russia and Turkey. Moscow has expanded its presence with arms deliveries and plans for a naval base in Tobruk, while Ankara has struck maritime deals that Greece deems illegal.