This week, Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, is conducting training for 62 Libyan Coast Guard and Navy officers aboard San Giorgio, a vessel taking part in the EU Naval Force – Mediterranean (EUNAVFOR MED) Operation Sophia.
With the training programme, Frontex is contributing to increasing the border control capacities of the Libyan Coast Guard and Navy.
Frontex is training the Libyan officers on law enforcement at sea. The topics covered by nine Frontex trainers include preparing and planning of law enforcement operations and combating of smuggling and trafficking of human beings. It also covers the protection of human rights in all coast guard activities.
In the first eleven months of this year, nearly 173 000 migrants crossed the Central Mediterranean and arrived in Italy, 20% more than a year ago. Most of them departed from Libya.