UNSC extends migration ship searches off Libya for a year

The UN Security Council has renewed member states’ authorization to inspect vessels off Libya, suspected of smuggling migrants between Africa and Europe, for another year. Proposed by Britain, the resolution was approved on Wednesday unanimously by the 15 members of the council. The document condemns “all acts of migrant smuggling and human trafficking into, through and from the Libyan territory and off the coast of Libya, which undermine further the process of stabilization of Libya and endangers the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.” The United States wanted to water down the draft text and remove several paragraphs on migrant smuggling considered too permissive for migration, AFP reported, citing diplomats. People smugglers have taken advantage of the turmoil in Libya. Many migrants, intercepted or rescued at sea, find themselves placed in detention centers with poor conditions.