
#6 – REACT Rights in practice. Do Italian funds for migration control pursue illegitimate purposes?
What it is about Over the past few years, both the Italian government (through the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation) and the European Commission have allocated large sums of money to the countries of origin and transit of third country nationals reaching the Member States. Initially, (around 2016-2018…

#3 – REACT Rights in practice. Push-backs at sea: how and when to claim compensatory damages
Claiming damages for pushbacks to Libya operated by Italian ships or coordinated by Italy and other related actions. What it is about For years, the Italian government has been responsible for pushbacks of refugees, asylum seekers and third country nationals trying to leave Libya to reach European shores. The behavior of Italian authorities has changed…

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights must condemn atrocities committed against migrants in Libya
The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) and the Association for Human Rights Studies (ASGI) deeply regret the lack of spaces for communication, including participation and expression of opinions, between Libyan civil society and human rights organizations and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACPHR), especially with regard to the file of…

#2 React – Rights in practice. Humanitarian visa for the exercise of the right to asylum
Authorizations to enter for third country nationals in need of protection who wouldn’t be otherwise entitled to enter for ordinary reasons (work, study, tourism, family reunification, etc.). What it is about Afghan women and men who can no longer enjoy their fundamental human rights after the Talibans seized power; refugees trapped in Libya because of…

#1 React – Rights in practice. Violations of the principle of non-refoulement in the so-called assisted voluntary returns
What it is about The programmes of assisted voluntary return are a tool used by European governments in the context of externalisation policies. As a response to the blockade created in transit countries such as Libya, Niger and Tunisia, programmes are funded to encourage the return of migrant people to their home countries. Such programmes…

Journalist appeals to the ECHR: knowing how public funds are used in Libya is a legal right
After being refused information by the Italian Ministry of the Interior, the Administrative Court and the Council of State, freelance journalist and member of the International Federation of Journalists Sara Creta, supported by ASGI lawyers, lodges an appeal before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to enforce Article 10 of the ECHR Convention. In…

Press conference | Niger: Complaint lodged against the Law criminalising the transit of migrants
Ecowas Court of Justice called to judge the legality of Niger Law No. 36/2015 The press conference will be held online on 22 September 2022 at 11:00 a.m. CEST ZOOM REGISTRATION Niger is one of the main partners of the European Union, and in particular of Italy, in the implementation of border externalization policies. From…

Secret international agreements: the Ombudsman opens an inquiry into the EU’s readmission agreement with the Gambia
Following a complaint presented by ASGI with the support of the International Human Rights Legal Clinic of the University of Turin, the European Ombudsman asked the Commission for access to an agreement signed in 2018 but never made public. In May 2018, the European Union signed an agreement with The Gambia called Good Practices on…

Press Conference held today: Private companies and Italian government brought to trial for pushback to Libya
The context – Facts and circumstances – Legal aspects Pushbacks to Libya carried out by private companies and coordinated by Italian authorities in collaboration with the so-called Libyan Coast Guard must be declared illegal. The effects of borders externalization policies under scrutiny by the Court of Rome. Five Eritrean citizens started a lawsuit against the…

Private companies and Italian government brought to trial for pushback to Libya
Press Conference February 12, 2021 h 12:00, Location: Zoom (Register HERE) Five Eritrean citizens were pushed back illegitimately on July 2nd, 2018 by the Augusta Offshore ship “Asso Ventinove” as part of operations coordinated by the Italian authorities stationed in Libya and with the collaboration of the so-called Libyan Coast Guard. Now they have started…

ASGI asks the Italian Court of Auditors for an investigation into the use of public funds in detention centres in Libya
Text of the complaint ASGI submitted a complaint to the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Court of Auditors in Rome, pointing out several critical issues concerning the activities carried out by some Italian NGOs in Libya with funds from the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS). The complaint is based on the report “A Critical…

Complaint to the UN Human Rights Committee over the role of Italy, Malta, and Libya in violating the right to leave Libya, resulting in denial of the rights of asylum seekers
Press Conference July 28th, 2020, 3:30 pm CEST_Location: Zoom (here the registration form) and live on ASGI’s Facebook page. Rome/Tunis, 24 July 2020 PRESS RELEASE The Association for Juridical Studies on Migration (ASGI) and the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) filed a complaint against Italy, Malta and Libya with the UN Human Rights…

The Italian Supreme Administrative Court orders the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to release IOM’s financial reports for projects financed by the Italian Government in Libya
ASGI, in the framework of the projects Sciabaca and Oruka, has presented requests to access the financial reports of projects implemented by IOM and other international organizations in Libya.

Right to enter Italy for those who have been unlawfully pushed back to Libya
On 28 November 2019, the first instance court in Rome, in adjudicating a civil lawsuit promoted by Amnesty international and represented in court by ASGI lawyers, recognizing for the first time that a foreigner illegally pushed back by Italian authorities has the right to enter Italy to seek international protection.

ASGI’s case against italian government for supporting the Libyan Coastguard through misuse of “Africa Fund” money goes on appeal
On 27 June 2019, the Italian Supreme Administrative Court held the first hearing in the case initiated by the Association for Legal Studies on Migration (ASGI) against the Italian Government for allegedly misusing cooperation and development money to provide operational support to the Libyan Coast Guard (LCG), in a bid to stem the flow of…

NGO coalition requests African Commission on Human Rights to probe atrocities against migrants in Libya
On 23 June 2019, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, ASGI and ARCI submitted a joint request to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, demanding an investigation into the gross human rights violations against refugees and migrants in Libyan detention centers.

The Court of Rome orders the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to issue an entry visa for humanitarian reasons for an unaccompanied minor in Libya
On 21 February 2019, the Tribunal of Rome ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Italian Embassy at Tripoli, to issue a visa for humanitarian reasons for an unaccompanied Nigerian minor in Libya.