The Memorandum Of Understanding Between Italy And Libya: Does It Create Human Rights Obligations On The Part Of Italy?
06-08-2021
In a blogpost published on OpinioJuris, UpRights co-founder Alessandro Pizzuti and Dr. Clare Frances Moran from Edinburgh Napier University discuss the human rights implications of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Italy and Libya in 2017.
The support provided by Italy pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding has enhanced the capacity of the Libyan Coast Guard to intercept migrants at sea and return them to Libya where they are subjected to systematic abuses including torture, sexual violence, and murder. These forms of abuses may amount to violations of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Convention against Torture (CAT). To the extent that Italy’s support to the Libyan authorities is instrumental to such violations, these instruments may apply extraterritorially, attracting Italy’s responsibility for such acts.
Read the full blogpost on OpinioJuris!
In July, Uprights released a concluding that Italy’s cooperation with Libyan authorities under the MoU is in violation of its human rights obligations and that the agreement needs to be reframed consistently in accordance with international law standards.
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