Call for Protest – Sit In – Demonstration In front of the Headquarter of UNHCR 9th & 10th of December 2022
One year ago, thousands of refugees had been protesting for more than 100 days in front of the UNHCR office in Tripoli: an historical act of self-organization under the harshest conditions.
They demanded:
- evacuations to safe countries;
- fair treatment by UNHCR Libya for all refugees;
- an end of the financing of the so-called Libyan Coast Guard and detention camps by the EU and European countries;
- justice for those who have been murdered, tortured and arbitrarily detained;
- Libya to sign the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention
The protesters were threatened and attacked and still held up their demands. Even though the sit-in was brutally dismantled and hundreds of protesters imprisoned on January 10th 2022, they neither gave up the political fight nor their hope. The demands still prevail and the struggles continue in various different forms.
The High Commissioner of Refugees is mandated to ensure the international protection of uprooted people worldwide – in Libya though, refugees are neglected by UNHCR, protection is refused and evacuation denied. Refugees in Libya and other countries in North Africa experience unfair treatment instead.
Until today, thousands of people are stranded, exploited, imprisoned and killed in Libya thanks to European money and with UNHCR passively watching. This is why the protests must continue – not only in Libya, but also in front of the UN in Geneva.
Against this background we call for two days of action in Geneva, directly in front of the UNHCR Headquarter and in reference to the International Human Rights Day (December 10).
We will start the protests the day before, on the 9th of December, at 10.00 am CET with a press conference and a following sit-in, which will last for at least 24 hours. The main speeches will be held from spokespersons of Refugees in Libya, who partly could reach Europe in the meanwhile. We will organize a 24-hour program of protest and information about the situation and struggles of refugees and migrants in North Africa.
Next day, 10th of December, we call for a demonstration, which will start at 13:00 CET with another gathering in front of the UNHCR building (Rue de Montbrillant 94).
We invite all organisations, groups and individuals in solidarity with the demands of Refugees in Libya to join this mobilization to Geneva and to amplify the voices of Refugees in Libya.
Help us to spread this call!
Organize cars and buses from your cities in Switzerland and all over Europe to come for two days to Geneva or at least for the demonstration on Saturday!
In the frame of the mobilization to the headquarter of UNHCR a new website will start in November under the name of https://unfairagency.org. It will contain critical research on the role and work of UNHCR in Libya and also in other north-African countries. But it will mainly document the testimonies of refugees with their concrete experiences of UNFAIR treatment by UNHCR in Tripoli. Let’s amplify these voices!
Solidarity will win!
Organized by the Transnational Network “Solidarity with Refugees in Libya”
Contact: solidaritywithrefugeesinlibya@riseup.net
www.refugeesinlibya.org
