Invisible Crimes: Accountability for Crimes against Migrants in Libya

Abstract

The systematic lack of accountability for migrant rights violations occurring in the context of migration control and other deterrence measures has been contested in theory and practice. While the scholarship has explored various accountability venues above and beyond international refugee law and within specialised regimes, new litigation strategies have accountability across multiple judicial and quasi-judicial fora at national and international levels. Against the background of this multilevel litigation strategy, international criminal law has emerged as a new site for accountability for violence against migrants at the borders of Europe. Starting from the Libyan case study, this article will examine the potential of international criminal law in the struggle for accountability for migrant rights violations. It will discuss whether and how qualifying migrant rights violations as crimes against humanity can illuminate certain aspects of violence against migrants at the borders of Europe while concretely challenging and addressing contemporary contactless forms of migration deterrence.