Great that @Frontex publicly responded to our reports about their cooperation with Libya. However, unfortunately the letter we received doesn't really address our key concerns.
Thread 1/
https://frontex.europa.eu/media-centre/news-release/frontex-responds-to-amnesty-international-organisation-s-report-1Ond3h

For years we have denounced how EU cooperation w Libya is trapping women, men & children in a situation of abuse. Over 60k have been intercepted at sea & returned to face abuse in Libya since Italy/EU started offering ships, training, SAR region & more. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2020/09/nowhere-safe-cycle-of-abuses-against-refugees-and-migrants-in-libya/ 2/

In our recent reports on Malta https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur33/2967/2020/en/ & Libya https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde19/3084/2020/en/ we highlighted the increasingly central role of Frontex airplanes in facilitating the interception of people at sea by the Libyan Coast Guard (LCG). 3/

Having provided Libya w speedboats, SAR zone and authority to coordinate rescues, the EU strategy is:
- use Frontex airplanes to spot migrants at sea & inform Libya
- wait for LCG to "rescue" people & return them to Libya
- deny any responsibility for subsequent abuse. 4/

This way, Italy/EU achieve their goal (returning refugees & migrants in Libya) w/out addressing a huge problem (people returned to Libya are tortured, killed, raped...). The scheme is designed to circumvent the prohibition to return people to a country where they risk harm. 5/

When we object to this strategy, we always get the same reply from @EU_Commission & @Frontex: they are just abiding by maritime conventions obliging any captain to report the position of people in distress, to ensure they are rescued. This does not answer our objection though. 6/

Indeed, we raised this point in the reports we sent to Frontex, also quoting the position recently taken by @UNHCRLibya:
7/

Unfortunately, with its new letter Frontex only reiterates its position, without really addressing our argument. It doesn't challenge it, nor it explains what it is doing to ensure it does not violate obligations under human rights and refugee law. https://www.statewatch.org/news/2020/october/eu-frontex-on-cooperation-with-libya-nothing-to-see-here/ 8/

To be clear: we are not asking Frontex to ground its airplanes. But cooperation carries the responsibility to mitigate against the risk of contributing to abuses. We are still waiting for EU, Italy and Frontex to clarify what they will do in this regard. 9/

Frontex also witnesses wrongdoings by EU states, e.g. Malta’s failure to rescue people & other unlawful practices to facilitate LCG interceptions & keep people away. Does it challenge those actions then? Frontex must contribute to transparency & accountability, not cover ups. 10/

The bottom line is: Libya is NOT a place of safety for disembarkation. Italy/EU/Frontex cannot assist interceptions and then look the other way. Until people are not treated humanely in Libya, they must be disembarked elsewhere. END/