The Libyan Coast Guard in training in Taranto
(B2) A few hundred (87 to be exact) members of the Libyan Coast Guard and Navy have just arrived at the Italian Navy Non-Commissioned Officers School (Scuola Sottufficiali della Marina) in Taranto to perfect their knowledge .
Two training courses provided by Europeans
The 87 candidates (officers and chief petty officers, including three tutors) will follow two training modules: "patrol crew" (8 weeks) and "training of trainers" (3 weeks), according to what EUNAVFOR HQ indicates. MED who organized the session. On the program: navigation activities, international maritime law, search and rescue (SAR), international human rights law, the asylum application procedure, first aid and medical aid at sea, etc. .
Objective: to increase the security of Libyan territorial waters
These training sessions are provided by Italian and European military personnel and experts from NGOs (1), which will last until the middle of November 2017. The objective “ is to increase the security of Libyan territorial waters, by strengthening the capacity of the Libyan Coast Guard and Navy to carry out their tasks, particularly in search and rescue and the fight against trafficking along the Libyan coast ».
A rigorous selection process
The Europeans insist on the selection process, which was painstakingly and carefully done during different phases, involving both the EUNAVFOR Med operation and other partners, such as EU Member States and international organizations ».
A second training pack
They are part of a second training pack provided by the Europeans of Operation Sophia, following the memorandum of understanding signed in 2016 by Rear Admiral Enrico Credendino, Commander of the European Naval Operation and Commodore Abdalh Toumia, Commander of the Libyan Coast Guard.
A task included in the missions of Operation Sophia
Since October 2016, the European operation has, in fact, started training the Libyan Coast Guard and Navy (as part of the extension of its mandate decided in June). So far, 136 Libyans have been trained by EUNAVFOR Med either at sea or in Crete, Malta and Rome.
(NGV)
(1) Representatives of European agencies such as Frontex (the European Border and Coast Guard Agency) or EASO (the European Asylum Support Office), international agencies such as the UNHCR (the United Nations Refugee Agency), and NGOs the Order of Malta, Italian Relief Corp and the Francesca RAVA Foundation.