Swiss Review 2/2018

12 Swiss Review / March 2018 / No.2 Politics Libyan refugees aboard a boat are rescued on the open sea. Photo: Keystone STÉPHANE HERZOG A million Swiss francs for the Libyan coastguard – that is the amount which Switzerland committed in 2017 as part of a European programme run by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). “Three training schemes have been provided for the authorities responsible for sea rescue and migration,” states Emmanuelle Jaquet von Sury, a spokesperson for the Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP). “Particular empha- sis has been placed on registering mi- grants after rescue operations at sea to ensure their cases are followed up, including in the detention facilities.” The coastguard have received 2,500 items of rescue equipment, in- cluding life jackets, first aid kits and blankets, according to the FDJP. Swit- zerland is not there on the ground to monitor the implementation of this programme, “but the presence of rep- resentatives of the IOM and the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) inmost ports to the west of Tripoli en- sures assistance and a certain degree of protection is provided during dis- embarkation and, in particular, the registration and detection of particu- larly vulnerable cases”, says the spokesperson. However she adds, “the conflict situation in Libya sometimes reduces the mobility of IOM person- nel and complicates the implementa- tion of the project.” Accusations of racketeering and murderous interventions at sea Various NGOs have accused the Libyan coastguard of involvement inmigrant trafficking. They claim the crews of the Libyan Coast Guards (LCG) have Switzerland helps to return migrants to Libya The Swiss Confederation has allocated a million Swiss francs to the Libyan coastguard. This policy has helped to curb crossings but various NGOs have denounced it as being tantamount to supporting migrant trafficking.