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By Faraj Aljarih

The escalating number of irregular migrants entering Libya has sparked concerns among several nations. With land boundaries spanning approximately 4,348 kilometers and sea borders extending over 1,700 kilometers, Libya has emerged as a preferred transit point for migrants seeking to reach Europe.

In recent months, migration activity to Europe through Libya has surged. A boat carrying around 80 irregular migrants sank off the coast of Castelverde, east of Tripoli, with only five surviving. The remaining individuals are either deceased or missing at sea. This incident highlights the perils of irregular migration and the pressing need for action to prevent further loss of life.

Last Saturday, 36 bodies were discovered washed up on the shore of Sabratha after their boat sank. The Libyan Red Crescent recovered the bodies over a period of three days, with the fate of others still unknown. This is another tragic incident that underscores the risks that migrants face when attempting to cross the Mediterranean.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), over 15,000 Bangladeshi migrants arrived in Italy from Libya in 2022, double the number from the previous year. This has prompted Italy to take action to curb irregular migration. The Italian Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, stated that Italy is working from inside Libya and Tunisia to reduce the number of migrants leaving, emphasizing that Italy cannot become a waiting hall for those who want to go elsewhere.

The latest statistics from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Libya (UNHCR) show that over 4,261 irregular migrants are currently detained in Libya since the beginning of 2023. The detention centers in Libya include the Abu Salim detention center in Tripoli, which has been the site of several protests and riots due to poor conditions, and the Zintan detention center in the western part of the country. The conditions in these centers have been a source of concern for human rights organizations, with reports of overcrowding, poor sanitation, and abuse. This underscores the necessity for a well-coordinated international endeavor to tackle the underlying reasons for migration and establish secure and lawful channels for individuals seeking to improve their lives.

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Italy takes action from inside Libya to curb migration influx - Libya Update

More than 100 people dead in multiple shipwrecks off Italy and north-Africa. Meanwhile, Malta continues non-response tactics and Italy continues to delay disembarkation of survivors and thereby limiting much needed NGO rescue capacity. The Administrative Law Division of the Council of State in the Netherlands has suspended Dublin transfers to Italy in two cases based on the lack of reception.

The dangerous Mediterranean route continues to generate deaths and distress. On April 24, the NGO hotline Alarm Phone reported of 26 ongoing distress situations at sea and stated: Europe, dont let even more people drown. Mass rescue efforts are desperately needed!. The call for rescue coordination and capacity was repeated by Sea-watch International the following day when the NGO rescue organisations asked: How many people have to die before the EU decides on a joint sea rescue program?. However, after numerous deadly shipwrecks, more than 100 bodies have been recovered off the coasts of Libya and Tunisiaand 20 people are missing and one confirmed dead off Lampedusa, Italy. On 27 April, the International Organization for Migrations (IOM) Missing Migrant Project announced it had recorded nearly 300 deaths in the Central Mediterranean in just the last 10 days. On 22 April, the Red Crescent recovered 11 dead bodies at the beach of Sabratha, Libya. A Libyan official toldmediathat the number of victims could rise. In this kind of incident, the chances of survival are slim the source added. Reportedly, by 25 April the bodies of at least 57 asylum seekers, including children, had been found off the coast of western Libya after several boats sank in the Mediterranean.

Tunisian authorities confirmed on 24 April that two separate shipwrecks off the coastal city of Sfax had resulted in the drowning of five people and that 31 bodies had washed up in a state of decomposition. According to Refugees in Libya, there were children among the victims. Reportedly, 70 bodies had been recovered from the coasts of the governorate of Sfax between 21 and 24 April. Meanwhile, reports of the Tunisian coast guard stealing engines from boats carrying migrants and leaving them adrift at sea continue. On 23 April, Alarm Phone reported: 38 people adrift off Al Amra Tunisia! Alarm Phone was alerted by a group of people who tried to flee Tunisia but got attacked by the Tunisian Garde Nationale who stole the engine. Interception and return of migrants by Tunisian authorities have sharply risen in 2023 and according to a spokesperson, the coast guard: thwarted 501 clandestine sea border crossing operations and rescued 14,406 people, including 13,138 from sub-Saharan Africa, in the first quarter of the year. Also On 24 April, a boat carrying more than 50 people attempting to reach Italy from Tunisia sank off Lampedusa. One person is confirmed dead and at least 20 remain missing. On 26 April, media reported of the Italian Coast Guard recovering the bodies of two women believed to have drowned after the tragedy. On 27 April, Alarm Phone was alerted to a boat in distress, carrying about 30 to 35 people who left from Libya and called urgent rescue operation.

Over the weekend of 22 and 23 April, some 1,200 people arrived to Italy from Tunisia. Officials from the Italian Coast Guard said in a statement that they responded to 35 boats in distress after leaving the North-African country. On 25 April, Italian officials stated that more than 2,200 migrants had been rescued from the Mediterranean Sea and brought to a reception centre on the island of Lampedusa over just 24 hours. Local fishermen and NGO rescue operators have also provided vital rescues. However, amid the deadly chaos erupting in the central Mediterranean, Italian authorities continue to delay the disembarkation of survivors assigning NGO rescue vessels to distant ports and Malta continues its non-response tactics. SOS Humanity reported on 25 April the disembarkation of 69 survivors in Ravenna. The organisation is filing a lawsuit against the systematic allocation of distant ports before the civil court in Rome, together with Sea-Eye and Mission Lifeline and stated after the disembarkation: We are relieved that we were able to bring them to safety. Yet Italys systematic distant ports policy increases the time they were forced to wait before reaching dry land and decreases the time we are able to carry out rescues. On 24 April, MSF Sea reported: 75 persons, including 40 minors and 13 women, were on an unseaworthy wooden boat in distress located in the international waters near Libya. Everyone is now safe on board of Geo Barents and being cared for by the team. Italy assigned Napoli as a port of disembarkation. On 21 April, SOS MEDITERRANEE announced that its Ocean Viking vessel had rescued 29 people from an unseaworthy fiberglass boat in pitch dark & rough weather. According to SOS MEDITERRANEE, Italian authorities assigned Bari as port of disembarkation for survivors on board Ocean Viking 770km away, imposing a 2-day navigation. While leaving the area of operations, we fear that other lives will be again at risk in the central Mediterranean. The boat was in distress for 5 days and left drifting in Malta rescue zone. According to the organisation: While Ocean Viking proceeded to the evacuation of those in distress, a Maltese helicopter was circling over the dinghy & an Italian patrol vessel was also present on scene, without either of the two assisting. Maltese authorities notorious for their non-response tactics have been refusing for over a year to release information on how many people were rescued in Maltese search-and-rescue waters, and how many were brought ashore, taken to Libya or Italy, citing national security reasons while dismissing the request as curiosity, Times of Malta wrote on 23 April. The outlet that has sought the information through Freedom of Information requests states it is requesting the data in light of claims, over the past years that Malta was failing to assist migrants at risk and of breaking international laws and notes: As a public authority, the Armed Forces of Malta is entrusted with public funds to rescue life at sea placing the public authority under the obligation of transparency and accountability.In response to a parliamentary question Home affairs minister, Byron Camilleri stated on 26 April that 92 people including an unaccompanied child have been brought to Malta after being rescued at sea in 2023 so far. According to ECRE member, Aditus Foundation, Camilleri further pointed out that once asylum process concludes, they will start work to immediately return those not deserving of protection to their country. The Nadir vessel operated by RESQSHIP landed 41 survivors in Lampedusa on 26 April and headed back to the SAR zone the following day. Additional rescues have been carried out by NGOs Open Arms and Emergency saving 47 and 55 people respectively the latter in waters off Libya. SOS Humanity, stated on 27 April: The German Parliament decided today to extend the German mandate for EU military operation EUNAVFOR MED Irini in the Mediterranean. Germany is thus continuing to support the training of the so-called Libyan Coast Guard, proven to have committed human rights violations. 4,335 people have been intercepted and returned to Libya on the Central Mediterranean route in 2023 as of 22 April, according to IOM.

In comparison, while less than 100 people disembarked in Malta, Italy has seen almost 39,000 disembarkations in 2023 so far and a state of emergency has been declared by the far-right government under the controversial prime minister, Giorgia Meloni. The government has also cracked down on civilian rescue operators and proposed to remove or diminish the rights to temporary protection but the political process has sparked division and pushback from regional governments, with representatives stating: We have not been consulted and we cant learn about things when decisions have already been taken. Meanwhile, amid closure of parliament and crack-down on political opposition and migrants in Tunisia, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani defined the country: a key country for stability in the Mediterranean Sea and in North Africa. EU and Italy are partnering with the regime on migration and European foreign ministers recently discussed how to respond to growing instability in a country that is a gateway for African migration to Europe. Of course we need reforms in Tunisia, Tajani stated, adding We need to start with financing, then we need to wait for the reforms, and then after that we have to move forward with (more) financing. The minister pointed out: You dont want this country to collapse that would have multiple negative consequences, including on migration. Successive Italian governments have had modest success in convincing EU partners to show solidarity and increase relocation. However, the reasoning by Italian authorities for the need to suspend Dublin returns to Italy based on the lack of reception capacity was acknowledged by the Administrative Law Division of the Council of State in the Netherlands. The top court ruled in two separate cases on 26 April that due to Italys lack of reception facilities, there is a real risk that the two asylum seekers will be deprived of basic necessities such as shelter, food and running water. Accordingly, their transfers were suspended and the ruling is expected to serve as a precedent for future cases.

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Mediterranean: Series of Deadly Shipwrecks off Libya, Tunisia and ... - European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) |

Caution has been urged over Government plans to send an Irish Naval patrol vessel to Libya as part of Operation Irini.

Tnaiste Michel Martin told the Dil he is seeking approval to deploy a single Naval Service patrol vessel to Operation Irini for a period of 46 days during June and July this year.

During the mission, the Irish vessel will help enforce a UN arms embargo on Libya, which was introduced in 2020 to preserve peace in the country after the end of the second Libyan civil war. Operation Irini is also responsible for training the Libyan Coast Guard to carry out these tasks.

The ship will be positioned in the area of operations for 34 days and the remaining days will be spent travelling to and from the mission area, Mr Martin said. If approved at a vote in the Dil on Wednesday evening, it will be the first operational overseas deployment of an Irish Naval ship since 2018, and only the third such mission in Naval Service history.

Mr Martin said the Naval Service has confirmed it will maintain a patrol plan that will have two ships on domestic patrols for 61 per cent of the deployment period and one ship for the remaining 39 per cent of the time.

While the department recognises the operational challenges of having only one or two vessels available for domestic duties during this period, the potential benefits of participation in this mission to the recruitment and retention crisis in the Naval Service are accepted, Mr Martin said.

Participation in this mission has been identified by the Naval Service as one of the immediate actions that will, potentially, assist in aiding their recruitment and retention efforts.

Sinn Fin TD Matt Carthy said while his party supported the deployment in principle they would continue to monitor the situation to ensure that the commitments given by Mr Martin were adhered to.

Mdecins Sans Frontires (MSF), however, has raised serious concerns about the mission due to the involvement of the Libyan coast guard, which the humanitarian organisation claims is intertwined with militias and armed groups that mistreat migrants.

In a letter to the Tnaiste, MSF asked that the Government refuse Irish Naval training of the Libyan coast guard at any time in the future as part of Operation Irini and to make a statement on its decision.

In March 2022, the German government refused the participation of its armed forces in the training of the Libyan coast guard as part of Operation Irini due to what their foreign ministry described as repeated unacceptable behaviour by individual units of the Libyan coast guard toward refugees and migrants.

Since the start of 2023, almost 10 people a day have lost their lives or have gone missing on the sea migration route between Libya and Italy.

Niamh Burke, an Irish nurse with MSF, said survivors she came across during sea rescues, who had been in Libya, would show me their scars and tell me how they were beaten by guards and not fed enough food to eat and how they would drink toilet water.

They would speak about being beaten with heated plastic, wood, and iron bars. Some of the survivors had suffered sexual violence, Ms Burke claimed.

I was told stories of previous attempts to cross, with boats being shot at and forcible returns to Libya, as well as abuses they suffered in that country, she said.

On one occasion, Ms Burke said she witnessed a boat in distress being pushed back by the Libyan coast guard, which was one of the worst moments for me during my time on the Geo Barents.

Even though we were in our rescue gear, ready to go, we couldnt do anything to help, Ms Burke recalled.

Having to stand back and just watch survivors being brought back to Libya, which is not a place of safety, against humanitarian law, was hard to take. We knew that people would be taken back to prison, to warehouses.

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NGO urges caution over plan to deploy Irish Naval vessel to Libya - The Irish Times

The Sudanese government has called on Libya to condemn the "rogue" Rapid Support Forces, which is battling the Sudanese Armed Forces, considering the latter a legitimate official institution responsible for the stability and maintenance of peace and security in the country.

A statement by the Sudanese Embassy in Libya Tuesday said the ongoing events in Sudan are the result of the RSF's rebellion against the Sudanese national army.

RSF units attacked several diplomatic missions and international and regional organizations, violating the pertinent international laws and norms, the embassy stated.

It called on the Libyan authorities to condemn the "rogue" party and the continued fighting in the country, which it said is endangering the lives of civilians, including women and children.

"The ongoing developments in Sudan is an internal matter, and the Sudanese government can contain the matter without external interference."

On Monday, the Libyan Embassy in Khartoum announced the evacuation of 105 Libyan nationals by ship from a port city in Sudan to Jeddah in preparation for flying them back home.

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Sudanese authority calls on Libya to condemn "rogue" RSF - The Libya Observer

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Libya has imposed, by means of a directive, a restriction onforeigners registering trademarks in the country, with effect fromNovember 1, 2022. The European Commission's website states that"Libya's trademark office has suspended the acceptance oftrademark applications and registrations filed by foreignapplicants".

According to the administrative directive of Libya'sMinistry of Economy and Trade, the trademark office limited itsoperation of new trademark registrations arising from foreignapplicants, while the status of pending procedures concerningforeign-owned trademarks is still not clear.

The office has reported that its activities will be limitedto the following:

"The religious and politicalinfluences are quite evident within the trademark protection scopein Libya, which is why this temporary suspension for trademarkregistration by foreign applicants does not come as asurprise."

Libya has been going through a context of instability plagued bypolitical conflicts since the overthrow of former leader Muammaral-Gaddafi in 2011, who ruled the country for over 30 years. Thecountry has, since then, been divided between two main factions:the internationally recognised Government of NationalAccordwhich is based in the capital city ofTripoliand the Libyan National Army (led by General KhalifaHaftar) based in the eastern city of Tobruk.

Apart from this, there are also several armed militias operatingthroughout the country, each with its own alliances, creating avolatile and unpredictable situation favourable to politicalinstability.

In March, Libya's High Council of State voted for aconstitutional amendment intended to provide a basis for electionsand a diplomatic representative from the UN for Libya moved to takecharge of a stalled political process to enable elections that areseen as the path to resolving years of conflict.

This ongoing conflict has disrupted the country's legal andregulatory framework, including intellectual property laws.Furthermore, the country's economy is heavily reliant on oiland gas exports, which have been severely impacted by the conflict.Thus, Libya's economy has suffered greatly with the disruptionof production and exports, which led to high unemployment,inflation, and a shortage of basic goods and services.

Foreign investment plays an important role in the economicdevelopment of a country, providing wealth, expertise, andtechnology, amongst other factors. However, not allowing foreignersto register their trademarks creates legal uncertainty as it makesestablishing a strong and stable presence in the Libyan marketdifficult. This policy discourages foreign investment, which iscrucial for job creation and economic growth.

In addition, the Libyan government has a history ofnationalising foreign-owned assets, which has created a lack oftrust between foreign investors and the government.

Regarding trademark registration, it's worth noting thatLibya's legal system is based on Islamic law (Sharia). It hasbecome the country's official legal system after the overthrowof former leader Muammar al-Gaddafi. The impact on how religioninfluences trademark registration in Libya is noticeable.

Ins Sequeira approached this subject in an article describing the nuances of such influence: "Libyantrademark law prohibits the registration of certain categories oftrademarks, including those seen as 'violating public morals orpublic order' (...) or those that are 'identical or similarto symbols constituting a purely religious nature' (...). Inpractice, this means that trademarks referencing banned substancesare regularly refused (eg, pork products in Class 29 and alcoholicbeverages in Classes 32 and 33). In addition, trademarks thatincorporate non-Islamic religious symbols, such as the Christiancross or Christmas-related goods (eg, Christmas trees in Class 28)are also refused."

The religious and political influences are quite evident withinthe trademark protection scope in Libya, which is why thistemporary suspension for trademark registration by foreignapplicants does not come as a surprise.

Indeed, without a functioning central government, there is avery challenging environment for businesses operating in thecountry. As a result, obtaining trademark registration can be acomplex and difficult process, and there may be significantobstacles to overcoming the legal and regulatory landscape.

The Libyan government's policy of not allowing foreigntrademark registration in the country has significant economic andpolitical implications. The absence of a unified legal system, theleftovers of nationalising foreign assets, and the challengingbusiness climate in Libya have all contributed to making itdifficult for foreign investors to operate in the country.

The policy of not allowing foreign trademark registration maywell be contributing to the country's economic stagnation andfor this reason, it is imperative for the Libyan government toestablish a more favourable business environment for foreigninvestors.

Doing so is crucial for promoting economic growth and prosperityin Libya, by way of unlocking the full potential of foreigninvestment and long-term economic development in the country.

This is a co-published article, which was originally published in theWorld Intellectual Property Review (WIPR).

The content of this article is intended to provide a generalguide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be soughtabout your specific circumstances.

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Libya's Temporary Suspension Of Trademark Registrations By ... - Mondaq News Alerts