Written question asked by Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat) on Wednesday, 8 June 2016, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 13 June 2016. It was answered by Tobias Ellwood (Conservative) on Thursday, 16 June 2016 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Libya: Human Trafficking

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress he has made on negotiations with the Libyan government on plans to tackle human trafficking and smuggling.

Answer: The UK, working with our international partners, is committed to working in partnership with the new Libyan government to take concrete action to tackle illegal migration through Libya. The Prime Minister has been clear on the need to do more to break the business model of the people smugglers. At the G7 Summit in Japan on 27 May, he announced that the UK will work to agree a plan to boost the capability of the Libyan coastguard to help stem the flow of illegal migration across the Mediterranean into Europe. Prime Minister Serraj wrote to EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini, on 21 May requesting cooperation with the EU on the training of the Libyan coastguard. Once a detailed plan has been agreed with the Libyan authorities, the UK will send a training team to assist in its implementation, and as soon as the relevant permissions and UN Security Council Resolution are in place, we will deploy a naval vessel to the South Central Mediterranean to combat arms trafficking in the region. Together these developments will help secure the coast of Libya, limit Daesh terrorists’ freedom of movement and help tackle the migrant crisis.

Secondary information