U.N. Human Rights Chief: E.U. Support to Libya Coast Guard ‘Inhuman’
Top U.N. human rights official Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein slammed the E.U.’s support to the Libyan coast guard as “inhuman.”
The E.U. is providing training and financial support to the coast guard, which has stepped up the interception of migrants and refugees taking boats to Europe in recent months.
German rescue NGO Sea-Watch last week accused the coast guard of contributing to the deaths of migrants when both responded to a shipwreck in the Mediterranean.
People stopped at sea are detained in “horrific” conditions in Libya, Zeid said. Around 20,000 migrants are being held at official Libyan detention centers, an increase from the 7,000 held in September, according to the U.N.
“Monitors were shocked by what they witnessed: thousands of emaciated and traumatized men, women and children piled on top of one another, locked up in hangars with no access to the most basic necessities, and stripped of their human dignity,” he said.
“The E.U. and its member states have done nothing so far to reduce the level of abuses suffered by migrants,” Zeid said.
Interior ministers from Europe and Africa had pledged to improve conditions after a meeting of the Central Mediterranean contact group in Switzerland the previous day. In a statement after the meeting, the ministers said they would work with Libyan authorities to improve conditions and secure the release of children and torture survivors.
U.S. Court Allows Partial Implementation of Trump Travel Ban
A U.S. appeals court allowed the partial implementation of Trump’s latest travel ban, with the exception of people with a “bona fide” relationship with the U.S.
The travel ban announced on September 24 barred travelers from Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia and Chad, as well as some Venezuelans and most North Koreans.
A day before it was due to go into effect, the ban was frozen by a judge in Hawaii, who said that it suffered the same problems as previous versions of the travel ban, despite adding new countries and tying the restrictions to the country’s provision of screening information.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco blocked that decision, but said the ban could not be applied to people with a relationship with the U.S. including a close family tie or a university place.
The Trump administration also suspended refugee resettlement from 11 countries and stopped refugees from bringing spouses and children to the U.S., moves that are also being challenged in court.
Slovenia Halts Deportation of Syrian Asylum Seeker
Slovenia halted the deportation of a Syrian claiming asylum in the country after his case garnered public support.
The country had rejected Ahmad Shamieh’s asylum application, saying he needed to return to Croatia to file his claim.
Shamieh’s case won the support of human rights groups, who pointed to his community work and integration into the country over almost two years.
Slovenian prime minister Miro Cerar said he would look into granting Shamieh a residence permit and suspended the deportation order.
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