Redefining crimes against humanity?

Abstract

Crimes against humanity are crimes that are of such gravity that shock the international community as a whole. Every state is entitled to prosecute such crimes due to their seriousness. In fact, the International Criminal Court (ICC) was established to ensure that such crimes are prosecuted when states are unwilling or unable to do so. However, such crimes often go unpunished for a variety of reasons. This is especially the case when crimes are committed by or with the aid of multiple actors. One example that is rising in importance but has not yet received enough attention is the case of Libya and its vicious cycle of human rights violations against migrants. This paper aims at analysing the (ill-)treatment of migrants who are trying to leave Libya towards the EU. It further seeks to evaluate the behaviour of various political actors, including those within EU Member States, according to the rules of criminal liability in International Criminal Law (ICL). Specifically, it demands the prosecution of not only Libyan but also EU Member State officials for crimes against humanity since the trafficking of human beings as a form of enslavement is acknowledged as an inhumane act in Art. 7 (2) (c) of the Rome Statute. The practice of repeated smuggling and trafficking of migrants is carried out by Libyan actors, however, initiated and/or aided and abetted by EU Member State officials, through their policies. It is therefore not the question, if the events in the Mediterranean Sea are crimes against humanity, but rather who exactly ought to be prosecuted under which mode of liability. Above all, it is concluded that the EU and its Member States has frustrated all hopes to vindicate its founding values and instead became an actor in the systematic mistreatment of migrants in Libya and the Mediterranean.