Commentary
Almost unopposed, Italy renewed its blatant violation of international law
One of the fundamental principles of international law, that of non-refoulement, states that no migrant may be deported to a country where their life and freedom are at risk. With this Memorandum, Italy entrusts migrants directly to their jailers and torturers.
It got none of the attention that the approval of the judicial reform separating the careers of prosecutors and judges did. But the government’s decision to automatically and silently renew the Memorandum of Understanding between Italy and Libya on immigration for another three years describes the trajectory Italy is now on far more clearly than any constitutional reform.
We would like to be able to say that this is the fault of the right, but we cannot: The renewal that took place on Saturday, amid general indifference, is the fourth consecutive one. Meloni is responsible for the last two, but center-left governments – Gentiloni and Conte II – are responsible for the original idea and the first renewal.
The Democratic Party (PD), now in the opposition, made amends by presenting a parliamentary motion to block the silent extension. The motion was voted down, and that concluded the debate on a cooperation agreement that is both a disgrace and a scandal.
Since 2017 – one year after the United Nations reported that systematic crimes against humanity against sub-Saharan African migrants were taking place in Libya – Italy has been collaborating with the criminals responsible. But “collaboration” is an understatement. Our country provides the means (especially naval vessels), the resources, and the political cover without which the tragic fictions of a “Libyan Coast Guard” and an officially recognized Libyan “Search and Rescue Area” would simply not exist.
This is not just a practice that violates international law, ignoring the rulings of both UN commissions and Italian courts. That, unfortunately, happens often. Here, however, we are witnessing a total, black-and-white reversal of the most basic norms. One of the fundamental principles of international law, that of non-refoulement, states that no migrant may be deported or expelled to a country where their life and freedom are at risk – but with this Memorandum, Italy has decided to entrust the management of migrants directly to their jailers and torturers.
Meloni’s decision, which she claimed as her own, to rescue the most notorious of these torturers, Almasri, from the hands of Italian justice and return him to Libya with a full apology is thus perfectly consistent with this treaty of collaboration between a state and criminal gangs. The fact that some magistrates have tried to investigate the legality of the ministers’ behavior in the affair is simply a necessary consequence, while Italy declaring war on the International Criminal Court to defend the move is unheard of.
And here we return to the constitutional reform of the judiciary that was just approved and will now be put to a referendum. This is relevant not only because the Memorandum with Libya makes a mockery of any pretense of defending “due process” that the right postures about every so often. It is relevant above all because the government has been screaming bloody murder against “meddling prosecutors,” accusing an attack against its authority and sacred institutional boundaries. And, on the other hand, it has winked at magistrates complicitly, seeking the cooperation of the Court of Appeal to get Justice Minister Nordio out of trouble.
Now, the Constitutional Court will also have to deal with the matter. But for the independence of the judiciary, both of these tactics – the threats and the entreaties – are as much a problem as the constitutional reform itself.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/quei-garantisti-dalla-parte-dei-torturatori on 2025-11-01