44 Amendments of François ALFONSI related to 2021/2064(INI)
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 a (new)
Citation 4 a (new)
— having regard to the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) of 15 November 2021 and 13 December 2021 adopting a legal framework for sanctions against the ‘Wagner Group’ and individuals and companies which cooperate with that network and that are responsible for serious human rights abuses or destabilising activities in Libya and other countries,
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 b (new)
Citation 4 b (new)
— having regard to the reports, press releases and the allegation letters of the UN Working Group on mercenaries, in particular of 24 March 2021, and of 27 October 2021,
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 c (new)
Citation 4 c (new)
— having regard to the Montreux document on pertinent international legal obligations and good practices for States related to operations of private military and security companies during armed conflict,
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 a (new)
Citation 9 a (new)
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 b (new)
Citation 9 b (new)
— having regard to the Declaration of the Paris International Conference for Libya of 12 November 2021,
Amendment 29 #
— having regard to the UN Human Rights Council R27 June 2022 and 23 March 2022 reports of the Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Libya of 23 March 2022, established by the UNHRC as well as the Mission’s report from 1 July 2022 on the situation in Tarhuna,
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 a (new)
Citation 14 a (new)
— having regard to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ (OHCHR) reports Unsafe and Undignified The forced expulsion of migrants from Libya of 25 November 2021 and Lethal Disregard: Search and rescue and the protection of migrants in the central Mediterranean Sea from 26 May 2021,
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15
Citation 15
— having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 16 December 1966, and general comments of the Human Rights Committee,
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 a (new)
Citation 16 a (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 19 May 2021 on human rights protection and the EU external migration policy (2020/2116(INI)),
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital -A (new)
Recital -A (new)
-A. whereas in March 2021 the Government of National Unity (GNU) was formed; whereas the formation of the GNU broke a political deadlock and for some time improved the situation of contested legitimacy in Libya; whereas in the run-up to the election process, however, the tensions and power struggles between the rival governments re- surfaced leading to the collapse of the elections; whereas due to the state of divisions there is an absence of a unified central authority in Libya;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas in the past 11 years, Libya has seen the repetition of cycles of illegitimate power grabs and convoluted electoral or constitutional processes that enabled Libyan political and economic elites to stay in power, supported by some foreign governments, including some European allies, and enabled by the lack of clear, strong international commitment to accountability and security sector reform in Libya; whereas the situation Libya has further deteriorated since the indefinite postponement of the elections at the end of 2021, deepening the political deadlock and division notably due to a lack of prior agreement on the legal basis for elections and on vetting criteria for candidates as well as the failure to prioritise the building of essential guarantees for free and fair elections, deepening the political deadlock and national fragmentation, further emboldening state-affiliated armed groups, and threatening to trigger further violence deepening the countrypolitical deadlock; whereas this postponement profoundly disappointed the more than 2.8 million Libyan citizens who had registered to vote; whereas the lack of commitment from Western and Eastern Libyan actors to build a shared roadmap towards elections, appears to indicate a shared lack of interest in building functional and representative political institutions;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas security and stability in Libya are closely correlated with the prospect of a real democratic transition that has the potential to deliver for all people in Libyathe Libyan population in its entire diversity; whereas centring accountability and human rights in any diplomatic engagement on Libya is essential to restoring the rule of law and ensuring political stability and sustainable peace, without which Libyan citizens will continue to suffer; whereas the UN Fact- Finding Mission on Libya’s (FFM) report of 23 March 2022 concluded that systemic impunity was impeding Libya’s transition to peace, democracy and the rule of law;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the increasingcontinuous involvement in the conflict of local and foreign armed groups, as well as foreign forces, poses a threat to the security of Libya and the entire region; whereas the continued influx of arms, ammunitions, services, provision of reconnaissance and sensible data, mercenaries, foreign fighters to parties in the conflict and the illicit export of petroleum intensify the current armed conflict, fuel further political instability in the country and the region and aggravates the suffering of the civilian population;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
E a. whereas the UN Panel of Experts has concluded that since 2019 more than 2.000 Russian personnel, including military instructors and mercenaries have been deployed to provide assistance to Khalifa Haftar and armed groups affiliated to him; whereas such Russian actors are reported to be in control of several strategic oil facilities and airbases; whereas the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Libya confirmed that there were reasonable grounds to believe that Russian mercenaries may have committed war crimes, such as the planting of mines in residential areas in southern Tripoli in 2020 causing at least 93 deaths and have committed extrajudicial killings; whereas the UN Panel of Experts on Libya considered that other activity of Russian actors fell under the military category of ‘psychological operations’ and as such, was in non-compliance with UN Security Council resolution 1970 (2011); whereas the EU has put the Yevgeny Prigozhin on its Libya sanctions list; whereas according to the final report of the UN Panel of Experts on Libya, pursuant to Resolution 1973 (2011), published in September 2019, Emirati company Black Shield Security Services recruited Sudanese nationals to serve in the Libyan conflict; whereas the deployment of private military and security companies fuels continued rivalry political factions in Libya and enables further instability and violence;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
E b. whereas an arms embargo relating to the supply of arms and military equipment to and from Libya was established by UN Security Council resolution 1973 (2011) and subsequent resolutions; whereas the UN Security Council has authorized Member States to inspect suspicious cargo on their territory as well as on the high seas and has established a panel of experts to monitor the embargo;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E c (new)
Recital E c (new)
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E d (new)
Recital E d (new)
E d. whereas in the conclusion of the conference on Libya from 19 January 2020 all parties committed to refraining from interference in the armed conflict or in the internal affairs of Libya and urge all international actors to do the same; whereas the conference on Libya from 23 June 2021 resulted in a fifty-five-point statement reaffirming the parties’ commitment to non-interference and calling for free, fair, inclusive and credible parliamentary and presidential elections; whereas on 12 November 2021, the countries participating in the Paris Conference for Libya reiterated their opposition to any foreign interference in Libyan affairs and backed the implementation of the action plan for the withdrawal of mercenaries, foreign fighters and foreign forces from the Libyan territory;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas a comprehensive security sector reform is critical to preventing future human rights violations, as well as fostering respect for the rule of law and for electoral and political processes, and to decrease the impunity of armed groups for grave human rights violations;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas the EU has been developingadopted a renewed partnership with the Southern Neighbourhood;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas in recent months, there has been a worrying shrinking of civic space, including a broad campaign linked to radical religious scholars, against the freedom of association and especially targeting youth civic movements such as Tanweer in Tripoli and Tanarout in Benghazi, labelling some of them as atheists, feminists or “against national values”; whereas many political activists, human rights defenders and journalists have been threatened, abducted, arbitrarily detained, tortured and killed; whereas the lack of a functioning justice system means that victims of human rights violations are not able to pursue legal remedies;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)
Recital J a (new)
J a. whereas in summer 2016 the EU through EUNAVFOR Operation Sophia started assisting the Libyan coastguards; whereas on 2 February 2017 Italy and Libya signed a memorandum of understanding for the provision of technical and financial assistance to the Libyan authorities with the aim to prevent migrants including refugees from reaching a place of safety and depriving them of their right to seek asylum; whereas on 3 February 2017 the European Council adopted the Malta Declaration on external aspects of migration; whereas since 2017 the number of people intercepted at sea and returned to Libya is over 82 000; whereas in 2021 the so-called Libyan coastguards — supported by Italy and the EU — captured 32,425 refugees and migrants at sea and returned them to Libya, being the highest figure on record, whereas according to the IOM during 2021, 2048 people died or disappeared at sea in the Mediterranean; whereas the 2015 report of the former UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants notes shortcomings in the EU’s approach to migration due to its lack of transparency and clarity, and to the weak status of many of the agreements reached in this framework, which in his view generally lack monitoring and accountability measures;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas migrants, refugees and asylum seekers oftenLibya is a key point of transit and departure for migrants attempting to reach Europe, particularly from sub-Saharan Africa; whereas thousands of migrants and refugees fleeing the violence in Libya have lost their lives in attempting to cross the Mediterranean in order to reach Europe; whereas migrants, refugees and asylum seekers are among those suffering the most from the protracted conflict in Libya as they become victims of traffickers and are subjected to extreme violence, rape, arbitrary arrest, detention, extortion, kidnapping for blackmail and exploitation including by armed groups whom executive authorities have given law enforcement powers; whereas thousands have died in the attempt to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe; whereas there has been substantive documentation, including by UN bodies, of violations of the principle of non- refoulement by the Libyan authorities, against the people attempting to escape Libya by sea;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)
Recital K a (new)
K a. whereas on 15 January 2021, Operation EUNAVFOR IRINI and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency signed a working arrangement whereby the two entities will, inter alia, exchange information about criminal activities; whereas the information collected by operation IRINI and Frontex are to be shared with all competent Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres (MRCC) of the area, namely the Italian, Maltese and Tunisian MRCCs, as well as the Libyan MRCC and the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, financed by the EU and operated by the Libyan Coastguard and Navy (LCG&N);
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point a
Paragraph 1 – point a
(a) ensure a UN-led and Libyan-owned inclusive national reconciliation process is given the strongest support possible in order to deliver longer-term stability and security and lay the foundations for a peaceful and democratic transition that involves all Libyan stakeholders; calls for greater inclusion of civil society, particularly women, and local governance leaders in peace-building efforts in order for the peace process to be more representative of ordinary Libyans;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b
Paragraph 1 – point b
(b) continue to cooperate closely with UNSMIL and actively support the renewal of its mandate; stress that, given the current political impasse, the continuation of UN- backed negotiations on a roadmap for free, fair and credible elections remains vital; evaluate the feasibility ofcalls on the EU and its Member States to jointly with the UN, focus diplomatic efforts on putting collective sustained pressure on political actors in Libya and relevant partners in the region to accept a new electoral roadmap led by UNSMIL under the framework provided by the Berlin process and the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum and refrain from accommodating Libyan political forces and regional powers involved; stresses that elections in Libya shall not be a mere box-ticking exercise and that mistakes made during the previous preparation of elections, such as a missing legal basis for elections and the absence of vetting criteria for candidates, need to be avoided; calls on the EU and its Member States to help create the necessary conditions in which free, fair and safe elections can take place, including measures and precautions for peaceful transfer of power; envisage the deployment of an EU electoral observation mission to monitor the electoral process;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point c
Paragraph 1 – point c
(c) step up EU diplomatic efforts to restore peace and security in the country, and ensure that the Member States speak with one voice; to this end, nominate, as a matter of priority, an EU special representative for Libya; ensure that representatives of the EU its Member States are at the disposal of all parts of the Libyan civil society;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d
Paragraph 1 – point d
(d) reinforce the call made during the Berlin Conferences in 2019 and 2020 as well as the Paris International Conference for Libya of 12 November 2021 for all mercenaries, foreign fighters and foreign forces to withdraw from Libyan territory; urges Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey to comply with that call, to immediately stop sending mercenaries to Libya and to withdraw those currently present in the country; calls on the HR/VP and EU Member States to sanction Russian military instructors and mercenaries and affiliated radical armed groups in Libya who have repeatedly participated in and enabled serious violations of international law with impunity, and represent a threat to stability in Libya and the region; calls on all Libyan authorities to end all relationships with private military and security companies;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point e
Paragraph 1 – point e
(e) increase support to the Libyan authorities for the implementation of a comprehensive security sector reform and in the area of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration policies for armed groups; such a strategy should establish a specialised technical committee for the vetting of members of armed groups and organise their disbandment and individual reintegration, disarmament and rehabilitation; neither design nor implementation of the Security Sector Reform (SSR) strategy should be entrusted to regional parties who are not viewed as neutral by key stakeholders;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point f
Paragraph 1 – point f
(f) provide the Libyan authorities with the technical assistance they need to enact a comprehensive reform of the judiciary sector aiming to dismantle the structural impunity that prevails in the country and pave the way for sustainable reconciliation and peace; consider the imposition of additional targeted restrictive measures, including through the use of the EU Global Human Rights Sanction Regime (GHRSR), on persons and entities committing violations against human rights defenders, members of civil society and the national judiciary, notably radical and repressive armed groups;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point h
Paragraph 1 – point h
(h) support the valuable work of the EU Border Assistance Mission in Libya andcore task of the European Union Naval Force Mediterranean oOperation Irini, two common security and defence policy (CSDP) missions, in contributing to sustainable peace, security and stability, in particular through their support forRINI , in contributing to the implementation of the arms embargo imposed on Libya by the UN Security Council; renew, if necessary, the mandate ofor these two core task of this common security and defence policy missions in order to contribute to improving the security conditions on the ground, including by preventing terrorists, human traffickers and armed groups from carrying out cross-border activities and reinforce it with the necessary political backing and technical capabilities to prevent arms entering Libya via land, sea, or air ; notes that secondary tasks may include gathering and sharing information on illicit exports of petroleum, human smuggling and trafficking networks, disrupting the business model of illicit exports of petroleum, and of human smuggling and trafficking networks, and training the Libyan coast guard and navy; guarantee that all activities carried out or facilitated by these twois missions respect human rights and areis in line with international and EU laws, in particular the principle of non-refoulement; conduct and provide Parliament with regularensure that no activity of this mission provides support to perpetrators of human rights violations, including by prioritizing the integration of human rights conditionality on their cooperation with any Libyan border or security apparatus, and ensuring ex ante human rights impact assessments ofor all theifunctions or activities to be undertaken or facilitated by these missions, to be shared with Parliament;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point h a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point h a (new)
(h a) stresses with regard to the maritime component of IRINI the international obligations regarding search and rescue of people in distress at sea; calls on Member States to ensure that IRINI acts in full compliance with the maritime law, in particular obligations related to search and rescue; reiterates its grave concern at the fate of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in Libya, whose already dramatic situation continues to deteriorate; calls on Libyan authorities and militias to close detention facilities for migrants;
Amendment 214 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point h b (new)
Paragraph 1 – point h b (new)
(h b) expresses its strongest concern about the financial and technical cooperation between the EU, notably Frontex and Operation IRINI, and EU Member States, notably Italy and Malta, with the so-called Libyan Cost Guards and its affiliated militias; is appalled by the EU´s and its Member States´ complicity in illegal pullbacks and returning people to inhumane camps in Libya, including via lethal operations conducted by the Libyan Coast Guard;
Amendment 215 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point h c (new)
Paragraph 1 – point h c (new)
(h c) acknowledges the work of the EU Border Assistance Mission in Libya; regrets that the mission’s focus since its initiation in 2013 has steadily shifted towards more migration management at the expense of structural support and capacity-building for Libyan authorities to stabilise the country;
Amendment 217 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point i
Paragraph 1 – point i
(i) mobilise adequate EU funds under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument to support Libyan democratisation efforts and projects aimed at strengthening the rule of law and, good governance, civil society, human rights defenders, in particular those defending and advancing women’s rights and equality; ensure that these projects are in line with the priorities of the New Agenda for the Mediterranean and, the UN 2030 Agenda and are compliant with OECD-DAC criteria; guarantee that EU funds are not used for border reinforcement with the purpose of pull- backs, refoulement or containment of migratory flows; guarantee that any EU funds for Libya are conditioned to the respect for human rights and that the European Parliament has adequate power of scrutiny and accountability on the use of EU funds under the NDICI;
Amendment 223 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point i a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point i a (new)
(i a) urges the HR/VP and the European Commission to work with the Member States to ensure sufficient political and financial support is provided to international accountability mechanisms, in particular the UN FFM on Libya and the ICC, and promote discussion on strengthening legal frameworks for universal jurisdiction inside the EU as an additional avenue to fight impunity;
Amendment 226 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point j
Paragraph 1 – point j
(j) urge the Libyan authorities to stop their ongoing harsh crackdown on civic space, supported by unaccountable, radical armed groups which are integrated within executive and security institutions, and to lift restrictions on civil society organisations that continue to put up serious obstacles to the freedom of association and the right to peaceful assembly, as guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Libya has ratified; urges Libyan policy makers to repeal law no.19 of 2001 and its corresponding decree (no.286 of 2019), which restrict the ability of civil society to carry out its activities, and Law no.76 of 1972 on publications restricting the freedom of expression; call on the Libyan authorities to stop criminalizing fundamental freedoms using vaguely-worded articles of the Libyan Penal Code such as Article 206 and 207, that bear the death penalty;
Amendment 231 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point j a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point j a (new)
(j a) asks the European Commission and the European External Action Service to work with the Libyan authorities and the UN to ensure access for foreign press and the protection of journalists and local civil society actors; firmly denounce human rights violations against journalists and civil society by Libyan actors and foreign forces and supports the use of targeted sanctions against the responsible parties;
Amendment 240 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point k
Paragraph 1 – point k
(k) urge the Libyan authorities to ensurestop the dreadful exploitation and cycle of abuses and violations against migrants , refugees and asylum seekers are protected andnd ensure the protection of migrants, internally displaced persons and marginalised communities; urges the EU and its Member States to guarantee full, safe and unhindered access to detention centres for humanitarian organisations providing essential assistance to these vulnerable categories of people;
Amendment 262 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point m a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point m a (new)
(m a) review European migration and border management policies and the way they are enabling appalling abuse against tens of thousands of women, men and children, including by halting any agreement involving directly or indirectly facilitating illegal pushbacks and pullbacks, and supporting Libyan parties against which there are strong allegations of grave violations and involvement in human trafficking; condition any co- operation with Libyan authorities on respect for human rights and on the implementation of concrete measures protecting the rights of migrants and refugees, such as releasing all detained migrants and ending their systematic arbitrary detention, abolishing the criminalisation of migrants and refugees, investigating attacks against them, ensuring their access to essential services, ensuring humanitarian access for all stakeholders to detention centres, or adopting asylum legislation; and ensure that adequate investigations are carried out into severe shortcomings in UNHCR assistance to asylum seekers and refugees in Libya;
Amendment 263 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point m b (new)
Paragraph 1 – point m b (new)
(m b) calls for the Commission to install an independent, transparent and effective human rights monitoring system on the basis of international law, in order to assess the impact of its asylum and migration related policies and spending in Libya, with a view of suspending any funding that directly or indirectly contributes to or enables the maintenance of migrants in inhuman conditions and other human rights violations; ensure that funding from the European Development Fund only leads to eradication of poverty and not to border control activities;
Amendment 270 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point n
Paragraph 1 – point n
(n) create new safe and legal pathways for migration to the EU, including by opening new humanitarian corridors and increasing Member States’ resettlement pledges through the Emergency Transit Mechanisms; re-establish sufficient, critically-needed state and EU-led search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean and stop obstructing the rescue operations of humanitarian organisations; ensure that migrants rescued at sea are disembarked in places of safety without undue delay, not in Libya, and ensure that southern Member States are not left alone to carry the responsibility of disembarkation and relocation;
Amendment 277 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point n a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point n a (new)
(n a) increase support and funding for Humanitarian Mine Action activities, given the contamination by explosive ordnances on the Libyan territory; ensure these activities include land release, victim assistance and risk education as well as full access for victims to healthcare, rehabilitation, psychological and psychosocial support; provide dedicated funding for victim assistance to cover long-term needs and develop referral plans to ensure sustainable delivery of services for people injured, the families of people injured or killed, and communities affected by explosive ordnances;
Amendment 281 #
(n b) calls on the EU, its Member States and partners to urge all parties to the conflict in Libya to avoid the use of explosive weapons in populated areas due to the systematic humanitarian impacts resulting from such use in terms of civilian casualties, but also damages to civilian objects and land contamination that create long-term consequences for civilians;
Amendment 282 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point o
Paragraph 1 – point o
(o) actively support the renewal of the UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Libya created by the UNHRC; ensure that it has sufficient resources to fulfil its mandate; encourage Libyan authorities to ensure the Fact Finding Mission has full access to carry out its investigations and technical support;