Border Resistance Report: The Human Cost of Border Externalization

• European Union (EU) border externalization policies are driving systemic human rights abuses, including deaths, disappearances, torture, and forced expulsions across North Africa and the Mediterranean.
• The 'Border Resistance' collective 2025-2026 report documents how technological surveillance and border militarization are weaponized against migrants.
• Migrants face a cycle of state-sponsored violence, including abandonment in deserts, detention, and systemic neglect by international organizations.

Border Externalization and Surveillance

• The EU delegates border enforcement to regional regimes, fostering "invisible smart borders" powered by biometric data, drones, thermal cameras, and satellites.
• Border Resistance demands that AI-assisted observation mechanisms be repurposed for life-saving search-and-rescue operations rather than military-grade surveillance.

Regional Human Rights Crisis

• Morocco: Reports highlight ongoing detention and forced displacement of 2022 Melilla massacre survivors, alongside rising racism and violent attacks against migrant workers.
• Libya: Migrant women and men are subjected to illegal detention, extortion, and trafficking by militias, with reports of UNHCR failing to provide adequate protection or support.
• Tunisia: Documented cases include deportation of migrants from Sfax into the desert and handovers to Libyan militias, leading to torture and sexual violence.

Core Demands

• Immediate cessation of cooperation and funding for Libyan authorities, with investigations into crimes against migrants.
• Classification of forced deportation into the desert as a crime against humanity.
• Accountability for the 2022 Melilla massacre, including the release of imprisoned survivors and the identification of the missing.
• Implementation of universal jurisdiction to prosecute those responsible for torture and human trafficking in Libya.