The Acting Foreign Minister of the Government of National Unity, Taher Al-Baour, stressed Libyan need for the international community's assistance to address the illegal immigration crisis, noting that Libya is a major starting point for immigrants heading to Italy.
Al-Baour's statements came during an interview with "Nova Agency" on the sidelines of the Mediterranean Dialogues in Rome, where he blamed the absence of a unified strategy by the European Union to address this phenomenon.
He stressed the need to provide Libya with the necessary resources, including electronic equipment to protect the borders, and to develop more effective agreements to eliminate illegal immigration controlled by human trafficking networks.
Al-Baour hailed the cooperation with Italy, describing it as "crucial" to confront this common challenge, stressing Libya's adoption of two approaches; rejection and voluntary return of immigrants while ensuring humanitarian assistance.
He also indicated that human rights violations to which immigrants were subjected had been committed by human trafficking networks outside the control of the state, noting the difficulty of confronting these violations due to the weak security in Libya.
Al-Baour stressed that the success of the local elections held on November 16, which witnessed the participation of approximately 75% of those registered, sends a clear message about the necessity of holding parliamentary and presidential elections.
