Refugees in Libya and supporting organizations invited for a two-day event in the German capital
After a first convergence in January 2024 in Bologna and a second one in Rome in the beginning of June, a third two-day event by and with Refugees in Libya will take place in October 2024 in Berlin. A public event on Friday the 18th will be followed by a series of workshops the next day.
Evacuation, not Externalisation! The Right to Move against an EU for the Few!
Illegal push- and pull backs, arbitrary detention, enslavement, sexual violence, and deaths at sea and on land: these are just some of the serious crimes and human rights violations people on the move face in Libya, Tunisia and the Mediterranean. These crimes are not only well-known in Europe, but EU migration policies directly contribute to them. Non-Europeans often have no option but to resort to dangerous sea crossings for lack of safe and legal pathways to seek protection. But rather than address this, European states concentrate their efforts on border fortification, frequently at the expense of human rights, striking deals with dictators in Libya and Tunisia to externalize border management, while simultaneously restricting and criminalizing life-saving sea rescue operations.
“Evacuation now” was the main slogan of the historic sit-in led by Refugees in Libya (‘RiL’) in October 2021, when they protested for 100 days in front of UNHCR’s office in Tripoli. Three years later, the network born from that protest is also organizing across Europe. Evacuation remains a central demand, along with accountability and policy change, for this important self-organized movement within the broader collective struggle to ensure the right to move for everyone.
On 18 October 2024, representatives from RiL and other organizations in solidarity with them will discuss the current situation in Libya and Tunisia. We will collectively think through possibilities and challenges to advance the movement’s aims through political, legal and practical interventions. Our goal is to build strong solidarity structures and campaigns to support the rights of people on the move through North Africa and the M editerranean.
The event will start at 18:30 with inputs from RiL, a German Member of Parliament, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights and the Civil Fleet, followed by an open discussion. Afterwards, from 20:30 to 21:30, guests are warmly invited to continue the conversation at a small reception, where they can also view a mobile exhibition about the Refugees in Libya movement.
Programme
https://www.refugeesinlibya.org/post/from-tripoli-to-berlin-evacuation-not-externalisation
