The Joint Pilot training is organised by EUBAM Libya, the Italian Ministry of Interior, and Frontex. In December 2018, the Council of the European Union amended and extended EUBAM Libya's mandate to actively support the Libyan authorities in contributing to efforts to disrupt organised criminal networks involved notably in smuggling migrants, human trafficking and terrorism. To achieve these objectives, EUBAM’s Border Management Unit is supporting Libyan the maritime law enforcement agency through training, mentoring and donor coordination.

The training course, hosted at the premises of Guardia di Finanza in Ostia, Italy, comprised of theoretical and practical sessions, inclusive of simulations and real-life scenarios. One of the practical exercises involved a simulation of what to expect in a hostile environment, for example, how to approach a dinghy with children’s and serious injured migrants on board.  Several of the trainees specified, after the mock SAR operation exercise, that they need women in their teams, in order to carry out their work effectively, as a response to the dinghy simulation.

Maritime Border Adviser (EUBAM Libya) elaborated:

“It was a true pleasure to see the result of our preparations for this pilot project. Together with Italian Ministry of Interior and Frontex, we have prepared this project for almost a year, with several development meetings. The objective from the start was to find an EU comprehensive training model to enhance the maritime law enforcement mechanism in Libya, and from my point of view, we succeeded. Now our focus will be to evaluate the project and find new modalities to heighten the overall outcome for future trainings in benefit of our Libyan colleagues”.

As part of this basic training, police officers were to learn how to appropriately approach a crime scene, preventing the contamination of the scene, adequately performing on the scene and also being aware of the responsibility, loyalty and honesty that collecting evidence requires. Also lessons in search and rescue, first aid, maritime operations, communication, reporting and interviewing were delivered to the officers. The protection of fundamental human rights was streamlined throughout the training, which integrated human rights and gender considerations in all the course activities, inclusive of a dedicated session on these priorities. The trainees showed commitment to learn from the start and delivered an impressive result during the three-week training course.

Head of Tajoura Training Facility (Libyan Ministry of Interior) stated:

“I attended the training in Rome as supervisor, and was very pleased to see the level of training outcome provided by our EU colleagues. We hope to be more involved with the Italian Ministry of Interior, Frontex and EUBAM Libya in order to enhance our professionalism and competencies during new specialized trainings in the future”.

Frontex, IT Authorities and EUBAM Libya are now evaluating the training outcome and will be looking for new and specialised trainings in benefit for the Libyan Maritime Law Enforcement Agencies.  The contents of the course were reviewed by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).