Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Dr Jeff Crisp, RSC Research Associate, has written a blog for the International Refugee Rights Initiative asking UNHCR’s Senior External Relations Officer in Tripoli what happens after refugees and migrants are intercepted in the Mediterranean by the EU-funded Libyan coastguard and returned to Libya.

His questions include the following:

  • Does UNHCR have an opportunity to identify those people who have been intercepted at sea and who have refugee status or a pending asylum claim?
  • Is there any evidence that the Libyan coastguard use excessive force or commit human rights abuses when returning people who are intercepted at sea?
  • Are the people who are intercepted and disembarked routinely placed in detention?
  • What happens to someone who is disembarked and who is suffering from a serious medical condition or severe trauma?
  • Are any special provisions made for unaccompanied children?
  • If people are placed in detention, does UNHCR have any access to them?

Read the answers in the blog here >>

related content

Jeff Crisp People

The ‘better data’ panacea for refugees and migrants: a reality check News & Media

We must not repeat the shameful history of returning Rohingya refugees News & Media

Refugees and displaced people: how Japan can help News & Media

New York Declaration on Refugees: A one-year report card News & Media