Stop Memorandum Italy - Libya
On February 2017 a Memorandum of Understatement (MoU) was signed by the Italian and Libyan governments on “fighting illegal migration”. This agreement, with the support of European Union funding and coordination by Frontex, has trained, financed and equipped Libyan forces who have systematically abducted, arbitrarily detained, tortured, enslaved, killed and raped migrants and we, Refugees in Libya, are among its victims. Through this agreement, Italy and the EU are currently aiding and abetting the perpetration of crimes against humanity in Libya. We hold them directly accountable for purposefully creating a racist torturing environment in Libya as a xenophobic attempt to deter migration.
Even in Italy, this immoral agreement has led to a deterioration of the rule of law, with the Italian government ignoring an International Criminal Court arrest warrant and instead illegally spying on human rights defenders. We, Refugees in Libya, have denounced, as witnesses and victims, the Italian state obstruction of justice when they released our torturer Osama Almasri. Our communications have been spied on by Italian secret services, as it has been ascertained in the Paragon case. We, the victims, strictly controlled by the Italian state, while the criminals are free to continue their acts.
The MoU has been violating our rights as refugees for eight years. But we believe that most Italian people do not agree with that. We believe that most Italians don’t want their taxes to be used to train and equip war criminals. We believe most Italians don’t want to force human beings into torture camps. That is why we call all those Italian citizens and politicians to support us. If nothing is done by November 2nd, 2025, the criminal MoU will be automatically renewed for three more years. We shall not let this happen.
But our demands go beyond just stopping harm. We ask for justice and reparations for all of us who were victims of Italian and EU policies in Libya. We want evacuation, protection and dignity. That is why we demand:
STOP supporting our torturers. The training, equipping, financing and coordination of Libyan actors involved in crimes against refugees and migrants by Italy and the EU must end:
Cancel the renewal of the 2017 Italy-Libya Memorandum of Understanding
Suspend all EU-funded projects supporting Libyan criminal militias
Stop Frontex sending coordinates of refugee boats to Libyan criminal militias.
End Impunity! Victims and survivors of the abuses resulting from the MoU deserve justice and reparation. To achieve that, Italy must:
Issue humanitarian visas to Italy to all those refugees and migrants who have suffered abuses under MoU-supported Libyan criminals
Financially compensate all those refugees and migrants who have suffered abuses under MoU-supported Libyan criminals
Officially apologize for the harm caused.
Give alternatives to the refugees still in Libya to escape the dangerous environment you created. Instead of funding criminals, we demand that Italy and the EU:
Relaunch state-led search and rescue in the Mediterranean
Promote and expand humanitarian corridors and other legal ways to evacuate refugees to places of safety
Fund Libyan civil society organizations supporting migrant and refugee communitiesWe, Refugees in Libya, are not in our country of origin. But that does not make us less human. And the first step to recognize our humanity is to stop supporting our torturers. STOP THE MEMORANDUM!
In October 2025, a broad coalition mobilized in Rome to oppose the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Italy and Libya. Led by Refugees in Libya, together with numerous human rights organizations, civil fleet actors, lawyers, researchers, and representatives of the Catholic Church, a series of public events culminated in a demonstration on Saturday, 18 October 2025, at Piazza Vidoni.
During the mobilization, dozens of human rights defenders and survivors of grave abuses in Libya and at sea denounced the complicity of the Italian and European governments. United in their demands, they called for an end to what they described as a bloody deal, an end to the violence, and a commitment to humanity.
The protests focused on the Memorandum of Understanding signed in February 2017 between the Italian and Libyan governments under the stated objective of "fighting illegal migration." Participants argued that, in practice, the agreement has resulted in increased suffering, more deaths at sea, and crimes against humanity. They highlighted how, with financial and political support from the European Union and operational coordination by Frontex, Libyan forces have been trained, financed, and equipped despite documented patterns of abduction, arbitrary detention, torture, enslavement, rape, and killings of migrants and refugees. According to the coalition, the MoU has legitimized and facilitated systematic human rights violations against people attempting to reach Europe through Libya and across the Mediterranean.
Speakers also pointed to practices at sea, where the so-called Libyan coast guard has been repeatedly accused of failing to rescue people in distress, forcibly returning survivors to Libya's detention system, and collaborating in violent interceptions. Civilian search and rescue vessels have likewise faced attacks and intimidation by armed groups operating at sea. The coalition argued that the scale, systematic nature, and persistence of these violations amount to crimes against humanity.
The mobilization also emphasized that the MoU is automatically renewed every three years unless one of the parties withdraws. With the next renewal approaching, participants warned that, if no action were taken before the renewal deadline, the agreement would continue for another three years, prolonging the cycle of violence and abuse. The coalition therefore called for renewed public mobilization against the externalization and militarization of the European Union's border regime.
Throughout the events, Refugees in Libya, together with allied organizations, reiterated their demands for justice and reparations. They called for the evacuation and protection of people trapped in Libya and emphasized the need to guarantee safety, dignity, and fundamental rights for all people on the move.
supported by:
Refugees in Libya
Refugees in Tunisia
Refugees in Niger
Abolish Frontex
Amnesty International Italy
ARCI
ASF
ASGI
Baobab Experience
Be free cooperativa sociale
Borderline-Europe
Border Resistance
Centro don Lorenzo Milani di.Pistoia
Civil Initiative Infokolpa
Coalition for the El Hiblu 3
COC Nederland
Compass Collective
Convenzione dei Diritti nel Mediterraneo
EMERGENCY
European Alternatives
European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR)
From the Sea to the City
Front-LEX
Gmajna Cultural Association
Gruppo Abele
Gruppo Immigrazione e Salute Trentino
Gruppo Melitea
Iuventa-crew
JLProject
Lampedusa in Hanau
LasciateCIEntrare
Le veglie contro le morti in mare
Legal Clinic on migration and asylum, University Roma Tre
Libera contro le mafie
Liminal
Louise Michel
Maldusa
Mediterranea Saving Humans
Medico international
Missing Voices (REER)
Mission Lifeline
Movimento Italiani Senza Cittadinanza
MSF / Doctors Without Borders
No Name Kitchen
Oltremani Italia
On Borders
Open Arms
Pilotes Volontaires
Pro Asyl
Refugees Platform Egypt (RPE)
Red Acoge
RESQSHIP
r42
Sea-Eye
Sea-Watch
SMH - Aita Mari
Società Italiana di Medicina delle Migrazioni
SOS Humanity
SOS Mediterranee
Stop Border Violence
TOM - Tutti gli Occhi sul Mediterraneo
Un ponte per
WatchTheMed Alarm Phone
WeMove Europe
Ya Basta! Bologna