Human rights warning for Italy
Human rights warning for Italy
Italy’s policy of forcing African migrant boats back to Libya without screening them for asylum applications has been criticized by the charity organisation Human Rights Watch.
A spokesman for the group, which has urged the EU to take action to stop the practice, accused Italy of ‘flouting its legal obligations’ in sending boat migrants back to Libya, where they are held in inhumane camps.
A report details the violence and unsanitary conditions to which the would-be asylum seekers are subjected to on their return to the North African coast.
As part of a crackdown on illegal immigration, Italian officials have been intercepting migrant boats in international waters under a deal with Libya, a country which has refused to sign any international treaties on refugees.
The criticisms were supported by the UN High-Commissioner for refugees Antonio Guterres, who expressed ‘strong reservations’ about Italy’s policy, at a meeting in Brussels on Monday.
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