Migrant deaths exposes deadly cost of Libya’s governance vacuum

The cost of an absence of effective governance in the Mediterranean has been displayed once again, with 22 migrants paying the price with their lives.

Two men accused of orchestrating a deadly migrant journey across the Mediterranean are set to face justice in Greece, following harrowing testimony from survivors, as reported by The Guardian on March 28. Authorities allege that dozens perished during the crossing, with some victims reportedly thrown into the sea after days without food or water since their departure from Libya’s coast.

The suspects, aged 19 and 21 and identified as Sudanese nationals, are believed to have organised the transport of migrants from Tobruk in eastern Libya towards Greece. They have been ordered to appear before a court in Crete, where they will face charges including involuntary manslaughter and facilitating illegal entry.

Libya’s fragmented political landscape has created a vacuum of effective governance, leaving migrants stranded in a no man’s land devoid of basic human rights, where smuggling networks are allowed to thrive. In this space, trafficking gangs operate with relative impunity, drawing on support and complicity from actors aligned with both the Libyan National Army (LNA) and the Government of National Unity (GNU).

Survivors described a six-day ordeal at sea after the vessel lost its course in severe weather. According to Greek officials, the boat drifted without supplies, leaving passengers weakened and exhausted. Testimony suggests that 22 people died during the journey and were subsequently thrown overboard on the orders of one of the alleged smugglers.

Greek authorities confirmed that the boat had departed Tobruk on March 21, a route frequently used by those seeking entry into the European Union. Officials say the combination of harsh conditions and lack of provisions led directly to the fatalities.

The case comes amid rising concerns over migrant deaths in the Mediterranean. Data from the International Organization for Migration recorded 559 deaths in the first two months of 2026, compared with 287 during the same period in the previous year.

Libya’s coastguard has been documented to of committed grave human rights offences against migrants who were intercepted at sea, before being brought back to detention centres inside Libya. Despite this, the EU has continued to cooperate with Libya’s coastguard. Previously the EU policy was to only deal with actors aligned with the GNU, but due to the number of migrant departures taking place on Libya’s eastern coast, which is under the control of the LNA, EU actors have began to engage with actors aligned with Libya’s Benghazi based administration.

A report by Chatham House on migrant smuggling and trafficking in Libya identifies a recurring dynamic in which Libyan actors court political and financial backing from European policymakers while allowing smuggling operations to persist. Viewed in this context, EU support not only flows to authorities with contested human rights records, but also reinforces the conditions and corruption that has enabled trafficking networks to expand and entrench themselves across Libya.

This displays how Europe’s supposed high “moral” standards are relegated to the sidelines when necessity arises. If it wasn’t already clear from the EU’s support of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, the continents shifting policy on migration across the Mediterranean exposes how the “European values” of basic human rights enshrined in the Lisbon Treaty serve as little more than an ivory tower from which the EU can condemn and dictate the policy of those deemed to be less “developed” or “civilised”, while the foundations of international law are relegated to obscurity.

The Guardian, Chatham House, ECCHR, Maghrebi.org