Three NGOs have reiterated their call for an end to migrant pushbacks by Malta, as 100 migrants stand to be picked up by the Libyan coast guard in Malta’s Search and Rescue zone. “Returning migrants to Libya means returning men, women and children to severe human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention, violence and torture, inhumane living conditions, human trafficking and slavery. “Malta’s responsibility for persons in distress within our Search and Rescue Zone is to coordinate their rescue and ensure their disembarkation at a port of safety. As strongly reiterated by the European Union Commission and by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Libya is not a safe port for migrants. Malta’s engagement with Libya’s coast guard for this to pick up persons from Malta’s Search and Rescue Zone is tantamount to an illegal pushback,” they said.

Source: Libya Today August 15, 2020 14:03 UTC