EU EXTERNAL PARTNERS: Egypt urged to stop abusing people on the move – Two mass graves uncovered in Libya ― Tunisian authorities accused of ‘state trafficking’ of people to Libya ― Increase in number of ‘interceptions’ by Moroccan authorities in 202…

• An NGO has called on the Egyptian government to respect its international obligations and provide protection to people in need.
• Two mass graves containing 49 bodies have been discovered in Libya.
• The authors of a new report have accused the Tunisian authorities of being directly involved in the expulsion and sale of people on the move in the country to Libya.
• Morocco prevented 78,685 people from crossing into the EU in 2024.

An NGO has called on the Egyptian government to respect its international obligations and provide protection to people in need. On 28 January, Refugees Platform in Egypt (RPE) published a position statement in which it condemned the recent measures taken by the Egyptian security services against people on the move in the country. The measures, which include systematic arrests and detention, and deportation campaigns have been described as part of a “recurring pattern”. RPE also criticised the recently enacted asylum law for being “inconsistent with international obligations and violating international law as well as basic protection requirements” despite the government’s claim that it upholds refugee rights. RPE has urged the Egyptian authorities to establish a protective legal framework and to revise the asylum law so that it meets international standards. It has also called for transparent investigations into law enforcement violations, access for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to detention centres, humanitarian access to borders and an end to the criminalisation of refugee rights defenders.

Two mass graves containing 49 bodies have been discovered in Libya. 19 bodies were found in Jakharrah, south of Benghazi, while 30 more were discovered in the Alkufra desert in the southeast of the country. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the second grave may contain up to 70 bodies and some of the bodies that have been exhumed so far have gunshot wounds. “The loss of these lives is yet another tragic reminder of the dangers faced by migrants embarking on perilous journeys,” said the head of the IOM’s mission in Libya, Nicoletta Giordano. He also called on the Libyan authorities “to ensure a dignified recovery, identification, and transfer of the remains of the deceased migrants, while notifying and assisting their families”.

The authors of a new report have accused the Tunisian authorities of being directly involved in the expulsion and sale of people on the move in the country to Libya. Based on 30 testimonies, the report by an international research group known as “Researchers X” reveals “the sale of human beings at the border by Tunisian police and military apparatuses” and “the interconnection between the infrastructure behind expulsions and the kidnapping industry in Libyan prisons”. Describing the activities of Libyan and Tunisian authorities as “state crimes” under international law, the report also reveals that the price for individuals “is based on the final value which the person being sold can generate through their ransom, the overall size of the group and its composition,” and that “women cost more, because in Libya women are considered sex objects”. At a press conference in the European Parliament to mark the launch of the report on 29 January, Ilaria Salis MEP said that the EU and Italy bore “enormous responsibilities” for human trafficking in the two North African countries, adding: “Libya and Tunisia work together to abuse migrants, to torture them using European funds”. Leoluca Orlando MEP demanded the suspension of the EU’s agreements with Libya and Tunisia, and said a copy of the report would be sent to European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola “so that they can no longer say they do not know”.

Morocco prevented 78,685 people from crossing into the EU in 2024. According to information provided by the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior on 6 February, this represented a 4.6% increase on the previous year and evidence of “growing migratory pressure in an unstable regional environment”. On the same day as the Ministry of the Interior shared its data with the Reuters news agency, NGOs marked the Global Day of CommemorAction to pay tribute to all of the people who have died or gone missing trying to reach Europe. The date represents the anniversary of the deaths of at least 15 people who were trying to cross the border between Morocco and the Spanish exclave of Ceuta in 2014. “On every 6 February, we come together to commemorate all those who have lost their lives or went missing when trying to cross borders and reach places of safety. We stand together, united in grief, denouncing the murderous European border regime,” the NGO Alarm Phone X posted.

Related articles