London, UK – The governments of Italy and Libya are set to renew their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on migration cooperation for a third time on November 2, 2025, despite rights groups and UN bodies raising concerns over forced labour, sexual violence and torture in Libyan migrant reception centres.
The bilateral agreement, first signed in 2017 and renewed automatically every three years, sets the terms for cooperation in “the fight” to secure national borders by combatting irregular migration and human trafficking.
The first two articles of the agreement commit Italy and the broader EU to support Libya’s Coast Guard with financial, technical and logistical support, aimed at intercepting and returning irregular migrants while also funding the reception centres where migrants and asylum seekers are detained.
Through the provision of material and technical support, the MoU has largely externalised Italy’s border control to a third party. Since 2017, Libya’s Coast Guard has intercepted and returned around 145,437 people at sea, according to the International Organisation for Migration.
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“Libya cannot be considered a safe place for the return of migrants intercepted or rescued at sea”, warned the UN High Commission for Human Rights. Such returns, the Commission says, may violate international law.
Italy’s renewed cooperation with the North-African nation therefore raises urgent questions about the European country’s legal and ethical responsibilities for the treatment of migrants beyond its borders.
The human cost of the Italy-Libya MoU
At the core of Italy and Libya’s MoU lies a commitment to curb “clandestine” migration to Europe by sea. One mechanism for achieving this is “the provision of temporary reception camps in Libya, under the exclusive control of the Libyan Ministry of Home Affairs.
Since the agreement was signed, Libya’s reception centres have drawn intense international scrutiny. While formally run by the Department for Combating Illegal Immigration (DCIM), rights groups report that in many instances DCIM control is only nominal, with militia groups exercising de facto control over these facilities.
Migrants have thus been subjected to abuses such as extortion, forced labour, torture, and sexual violence, according to Human Rights Watch, Médecins Sans Frontières, Amnesty International and UN bodies. The severity and systematic nature of these abuses have led UN investigators to conclude that they amount to crimes against humanity.
Survivors contest the MoU’s renewal
Since June 2025, Refugees in Libya, a group of survivors of migrant-related abuse in Libya, have organised protests in Italy demanding justice and an immediate end to the Italy-Libya MoU. From October 14 to 18, the group coordinated a week of action titled “STOP MoU!” with the support of 66 civil society organisations.
The Refugees in Libya team spoke to EU Reports about their motivations for the protests:
“We at Refugees in Libya believe the Italy-Libya Memorandum should be completely abolished, not renewed. It’s a deal built on suffering, for years it has led to us, our brothers and sisters being captured at sea, returned to war zones and locked in detention centers where people are tortured raped, starved and sold.”
“Italy and the EU know these crimes are happening, but they continue to fund the Libyan coastguards and they call it migration control,” noted the spokesperson.
The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) has echoed these claims. In 2022, the organisation petitioned the International Criminal Court (ICC) to include interceptions at sea within the crimes currently under investigation in its ongoing Libya case.
According to the ECCHR, these interceptions breach the international law principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits states from returning people to places where they could face serious harm or torture.
The Center also urged the ICC to investigate the complicity of senior EU officials and member states, pointing to their ongoing capacity-building and technical support for the Libyan Coast Guard since 2016.
Despite these condemnations, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni maintains that the MoU protects migrants by preventing dangerous crossings across the Mediterranean. Survivors, however, strongly disagree, according to Refugees in Libya.
“We hear that people say Italy supports the Libyan coastguard to stop dangerous journeys across the sea, but we lived through what the reality means. It’s not protection, it’s punishment,” the organisation asserted.
“If Italy truly wants to help, it would create safe pathways for all the people who are seeking protection and ensure that they are treated with humanity,” the spokesperson added.
“Trapped in Libya”
The MoU neglects to establish any legal routes for those seeking asylum on the continent. Refugees in Libya told EU Reports that, as a result, “many refugees and migrants are trapped in Libya.”
At present Libya has no formal asylum system and no legal framework to identify and support asylum seekers. Although the right to asylum is protected under customary international law, regardless of the way in which a person arrives abroad, Libyan authorities work to detain and remove all those who have entered the country irregularly.
“[Migrants and refugees] are left in a legal vacuum where they are unable to access legal services, unable to speak to a solicitor, unable to claim asylum, unable to leave, unable to stay, unable to go to Italy. It creates a black hole,” Sabrina Galella, Advocacy Manager at Amnesty International UK, told EU Reports.
In 2024, the EU Ambassador in Libya called on all EU Member States to consider offering eligible asylum seekers and refugee children safe and legal pathways for protection. This call remains unaddressed both at the European level and within the Italy-Libya memorandum.
Italy’s legal obligations
Discussion over Italy’s potential legal complicity in Libya’s crimes against migrants reached Italy’s Lower House on October 15, as opposition members contested the agreement’s renewal.
A motion presented by the Five Star Movement Group, a party of “Independent progressives”, called on the government to “interrupt the automatic renewal of the Memorandum […] in order to proceed with its revision.”
The motion argued that the MoU had not only failed to reduce irregular crossings – citing a 24.4% increase in small boat crossings from Libya to Italy since 2023 – but also “risks making [Italy] co-responsible before international law” for the crimes committed by Libyan authorities against migrants.
The extent to which Italy can be held legally liable for crimes beyond its borders remains uncertain.
Galella explained, however, that while the “ECHR does not yet deal with when migration is outsourced to third parties […]there are quite a few international law principles that give Italy obligations.”
She highlighted that, under international law, Italy is required to not aid or assist in the commission of internationally wrongful acts. Given that the international community has found Libya’s treatment of migrants to violate the principle of non-refoulement and the Convention against Torture, Italy has a responsibility to withdraw all material and technical support that could facilitate these crimes.
Between the MoU’s formalisation in 2017 and 2024, Italy’s Ministry of Interior committed €59 million to support Libya’s Integrated Border and Migration Management, according to ActionAid.
“Italy did not condition the funds to Libya in accordance with human rights, and they have done nothing to ensure compliance,” Galella added.
The future of Italy-Libya migration cooperation
Despite political opposition and international criticism, the Italian lower house voted in favour of the Memorandum’s automatic renewal on October 15, with 153 votes for, 112 against, and nine abstentions. It is therefore unlikely that the Italian government will revoke or revise the MoU before the deadline of November.
Nevertheless, Refugees in Libya remain committed to campaigning for the MoU’s revocation in its current form and for the creation of a just replacement.
“We want a policy that respects our humanity. A real replacement should include: an immediate end to forced returns to Libya, mass evacuation programs, safe and legal routes, and refugees and migrants must be included in the design of any new policy,” the organization said.
As the Italy-Libya memorandum is set to enter its ninth year, raising the walls of Fortress Europe ever higher, Refugees in Libya’s message to the international community is clear:
“Seeking safety is not a crime and no agreement should make survival a punishment.”
Featured Image Credit:
Image: Italian PM Meloni meets with the PM Abdul al-Dabaiba of the Libyan Government of National Unity in Tripoli, Libya
Source: Italian Government
