EU announces completion of procedures for maritime rescue coordination center in Benghazi with Italian and Maltese funding

EU Ambassador to Libya Nicola Orlando announced the completion of procedures to establish a Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) in Benghazi as part of the European naval operation IRINI, funded by Italy and Malta, in a move aimed at enhancing maritime safety and curbing irregular migration across the Mediterranean.

In a post on X, Orlando said the announcement followed a meeting in Rome attended by IRINI Operation Commander Admiral Marco Casaberi, Malta’s Ambassador to Italy Daniel Azzopardi, and Khairi Al-Tamimi, Secretary-General of Haftar’s forces.

Meanwhile, 31 human rights organizations called on the European Union and its member states to suspend all cooperation with the Libyan authorities on migration and border control, arguing that continued cooperation contributes to the forced return of migrants to Libya and makes the EU complicit in human rights abuses.

In a joint statement, the organizations referred to the establishment of the Benghazi rescue coordination center, the installation of a surveillance tower in Tobruk, and the continued provision of funding, training, equipment, and technical support to Libyan migration control authorities.

The statement said authorities in both eastern and western Libya face allegations of widespread abuses against refugees and migrants, as well as attacks targeting search-and-rescue vessels operating in the Mediterranean. It called for the suspension of EU migration-related funding until human rights are guaranteed, independent investigations into attacks on humanitarian rescue ships, and the establishment of a European inquiry to determine the EU’s responsibility for those violations.