Researcher says Libya’s migration crisis has turned geopolitical

Speaking to Al-Masar TV, as monitored by Libyan Express, security affairs researcher Mohamed Al-Sanousi said that Libya’s migration crisis has evolved from a humanitarian challenge into a geopolitical issue used by some countries as part of their foreign policy agendas.

He explained that Libya is no longer merely a transit point for irregular migrants but has effectively become a “country of settlement”, either temporarily or by necessity, as a result of political divisions and the absence of a unified national strategy to manage the issue.

Al-Sanousi said the situation reflects a structural failure within the international system to maintain a balance between human security and national sovereignty. He added that responsibility lies not only with the Libyan state but also with the international community, which must address the root causes of migration rather than its consequences.

He noted that human movement across regions has existed throughout history and cannot be stopped completely. Migration, he said, is a natural human phenomenon that can be managed or contained but never entirely halted. Libya’s geographic position between Africa and Europe, he added, has made it a victim of migration flows, as Europe seeks to prevent arrivals while many African countries struggle to control their borders.

Al-Sanousi warned that generations of migrants have now been born in Libya without official registration either in their countries of origin or within Libyan civil records. This, he said, poses serious challenges to national identity, security, and demographic stability. He emphasised that Libya, with its relatively small population, cannot absorb the continuous influx of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa.

He also criticised Europe for withdrawing from earlier commitments such as the 2008 border security agreement, replacing them with arrangements involving non-elected political actors, which he said have worsened the crisis. He described Europe’s current approach of closing its northern borders while leaving the southern ones open as an implicit attempt to impose forced settlement in Libya.

Al-Sanousi added that the former regime had also used the migration issue as a foreign policy bargaining tool, but that today’s challenges are far more complex, involving organised crime, political fragmentation, demographic change, and weak state institutions. He said that rebuilding the state is the essential starting point for any meaningful attempt to address the migration crisis.

The researcher called for a balanced approach between humanitarian values and national security requirements, urging the establishment of strong state institutions capable of developing coherent migration policies, as well as civil society organisations to monitor the human rights implications of such policies.

He highlighted the potential role of tribal and community leaders in southern Libya, along with their counterparts in Niger, Chad, and Sudan, in reducing tensions and improving coordination through shared cultural and tribal links.

Al-Sanousi also urged the Libyan state to apply diplomatic pressure on the European Union to establish organised migration pathways, warning that unmanaged migration flows would continue to place pressure on Libya’s economy and security.

He concluded by warning that continued political division will leave Libya vulnerable to foreign influence and external agendas, calling for a comprehensive national strategy that integrates both humanitarian and geopolitical dimensions, protects national sovereignty, and preserves Libya’s identity and stability.