In a critical report published on Wednesday 12 July, the British House of Lords states that there is little reason to renew the Eunavfor Med Sophia operation. The decision on renewing the operation's mandate could be taken at the EU Foreign Affairs Council on 17 July.
"We see little reason to renew the mandate of the mission in its current form beyond 2017" because it only takes place in international waters, the Lords say in their report, adding that a "naval mission is the wrong tool with which to tackle migration in the central Mediterranean".
"We remain of the view that Operation Sophia has not, in any meaningful way, deterred the flow of migrants, disrupted the smugglers’ networks, or impeded the business of people smuggling on the central Mediterranean route", the report states. According to the Lords, an unintended consequence of Operation Sophia’s destruction of vessels has been that the smugglers have adapted, "sending migrants to sea in unseaworthy vessels, leading to an increase in deaths". On 2 July, 2,150 deaths in the Mediterranean had been recorded for the first half of 2017.
Picking up on the words of the British government, the Lords say that there are "cheaper and more suitable ships to continue the essential task of search and rescue, which could be deployed in place of the mission in continuing to save lives". In the Lords' view, disrupting the business model of smugglers' networks will require concerted action at Libya’s southern land border. "We therefore welcome the EU’s suggestion to develop a plan for a further Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) mission for Libya", the Lords state.
They also say the existence of Operation Sophia is not a pre-condition for training the coastguard, which has been assured by the EU. The Lords recommend that the British government hold discussions with the EU and its member states so that this activity can be separated from Operation Sophia if its mandate is not renewed.
So far, 136 Libyans have been trained by Operation Sophia.
EU defends its operation
In a press release, the European External Action Service defended Operation Sophia. An EU spokesperson stated that "Operation Sophia is disrupting the business model of traffickers in the Mediterranean Sea and has been recognised as providing a valuable contribution to the common challenge of fighting smugglers and traffickers who exploit human despair". The spokesperson also said that the operation contributed to search and rescue operations at sea.
Since its implementation, the operation has enabled 110 suspected smugglers to be arrested, 463 vessels to be neutralised, and over 39,000 people to be saved.
"The operation needs to be seen in its wider context: Operation Sophia is obviously not the only EU response to the challenge of irregular migration. It is part of a broader strategy the EU has put in place with African partners (...) to protect migrants, fight traffickers and support partner countries' development", the EEAS spokesperson stated.
The House of Lords report can be consulted at: http://bit.ly/2sQqdnO (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)