Monday, May 11, 2015

EU Seeks UN Backing for Military Action to Stop Wave of Migrants Fleeing "Horrific Abuse" in Libya

Democracy Now!

"The European Union is expected to ask the United Nations Security Council today to permit military action against human traffickers operating out of Libya. The U.N. estimates more than 60,000 people have already tried to cross the Mediterranean from Libya into Europe this year. Over 1,800 migrants have died in the attempt, 20 times more than the same period last year. Meanwhile, the European Commission is due to make a proposal that member countries take in refugees under an E.U. quota system. The European Commission’s migration policy will also propose organizing legal means for migrants to come to Europe so they don’t turn to traffickers. This comes as a new report by Amnesty International reveals how migrants are forced to flee Libya because of "horrific abuse." The report is based on interviews with refugees and migrants across Libya who face "rape, torture and abductions for ransom by traffickers and smugglers, as well as systematic exploitation by their employers, religious persecution and other abuses by armed groups and criminal gangs." We are joined by the report’s author, Magda Mughrabi, Libya Researcher at Amnesty International....."

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