The EU is bankrolling a system that traps migrants in Libya's cycle of abuse, funding a coast guard that shoots at rescue boats and intercepts people fleeing war. Pouring money into armed groups with documented war crimes records isn't migration management — it's outsourcing brutality. Expanding that cooperation to eastern Libya, where thousands face mass arrests and forced deportations, makes the EU directly responsible for what happens next.
Libya itself convicted a prison director for torturing migrants, proving accountability is possible from within. The EU's engagement isn't blind endorsement — it's the only lever pushing Libya toward rights-based migration management and away from unchecked smuggling networks. Pulling funding and walking away abandons the 900,000 migrants already there to a vacuum where no international standards apply at all.
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