Last month, dozens of the Freedom United community in Italy took to Twitter to demand that their representatives say #NoToItalianComplicity in slavery in Libya. 

Ahead of a vote on the renewal of funding for Italy’s military missions in support of the Libyan Coast Guard, we mobilized to ask key decision-makers to reject the proposal. And they heard us! 

Enrico Letta, secretary of the Democratic Party, announced that his party would abstain from the vote on one of the key support missions.

Although the funding was still approved, this decision is an important turning point for the party and the wider movement to end the E.U.’s support for Libya’s extremely exploitative migration detention system.   

Why was this change so important?

Well, the Democratic Party was responsible for the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Libya in 2017, which intensified European support for the system which has trapped tens of thousands of people in a vicious cycle of trafficking. 

With the Italian government in a state of crisis and elections scheduled for late September, the Democratic Party, which is currently second in the polls, is looking to win votes. 

Its change of heart on Libya shows that the party is hearing us! Together with other activists and organizations, we’ve made it clear to the Democratic Party that we won’t stand for Italian complicity in modern slavery. 

What next?

We cannot ease up the pressure. The renewal of the Italy-Libya MoU is looming. We have until November to get it cancelled. 

We cannot let thousands more people suffer forced labor, trafficking, torture and extortion. We cannot let the E.U. and member states continue to prop up this horrific system just to stem new arrivals. Share the campaign today to grow the movement.

In solidarity,

Monica and the team that supports the Freedom United community