Protests in Italy as renewal of migrant deal with Libya looms
Migrants and rights activists took to the streets of Rome to protest against Italy’s migrant cooperation deal with Libya, according to The New Arab via AFP.
The protests took place on October 18th, a day after reports that 20 migrants died in a boat wreck while crossing the Mediterranean. In 2025 alone, 460 migrants have died while crossing the Central Mediterranean route from Libyan shores, illustrating how perilous the journey is.
Libya has become a major transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa by virtue of its violence-dominated economy, political instability and subsequent lack of a unified and robust centralised authority.
The Italian government trains and funds the Libyan coast guard under the highly controversial Memorandum of Understanding on Migration Cooperation (MoU). It was signed in 2017 between Italy and Libya’s internationally recognised Government of National Unity (GNU) to deter and curtail irregular migration.
Under the agreement, the coast guard can intercept and return migrants to detention centres in Libya, where they face inhumane living conditions, torture, rape, and forced labour. It has also been accused of habitually opening fire, with live rounds, on charity rescue vessels that are seeking to prevent migrant deaths.
Italy’s Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, renewed the MoU in 2023 despite widespread reports by activist groups of severe human rights abuses by the Libyan coast guard.
At the time of renewal, Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned that “assisting Libya’s coast guard, knowing that it will facilitate the return of thousands of people to serious human rights violations, makes Italy and the European Union complicit in such crimes”, according to Al Jazeera in February 2023.
Nevertheless, the abusive system persists, and with the MoU set to automatically renew once again on November 2nd if neither party revokes their membership, causing humanitarian organisations and activists alike to voice significant concern.
Judith Sunderland, associate Europe and Central Asia director at HRW urged that the MoU “should be revoked, not renewed” as it “has proven to be a framework for violence and suffering”, according to HRW on October 13th.
Various civil organisations, such as Refugees in Libya, which is composed of survivors of migrant-related violence in the North African country, are mobilising action against the renewal and are lobbying for the EU to cut all migrant cooperation with Libya.
Despite mounting civil pressure against the renewal, the pendulum appears to be swinging the other way within the Italian legislature. According to The Libya Observer on October 16th, Italy’s lower parliamentary house approved a motion filed by members of the ruling coalition which calls on the government to renew the MoU.
The motion stresses the importance of maintaining a national strategy to combat migrant trafficking and stop departures from Libya. Italy’s relentless drive to suppress irregular migration stems from its geographical proximity to migrant departure points in North Africa, making it one of Europe’s primary recipients.
This determination, however, risks simply perpetuating the “vicious circle” of violence caused by the MoU framework.
The New Arab via AFP, Maghrebi.org, Al Jazeera, Human Rights Watch, Refugees in Libya, the Libya Observer
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