"Finally, the spotlights have been turned to the human rights situation in Libya. This is to our credit," Gentiloni said in an address to senators and later to MPs before an EU summit in Brussels this week.
He said accords signed between Rome and authorities in Tripoli to stem the flow of migrants had allowed UN agencies to intervene in Libya, increasing the number of voluntary returns to home countries "from less than 3,000 last year to more than 15,000 today, and it could exceed 20,000 this year".
"Since July 1 that represents a decrease of 80,000 people compared with 2017, a result that would have been unthinkable to predict," he said.
As a result, Italy "can be proud of being the country that sets a good example for Europe, both in welcoming and saving lives at sea, and in inflicting serious, measurable and I hope long-lasting defeats on human traffickers."
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In its report yesterday, Amnesty warned of legal action against Rome and other EU governments over the European Union's policy of aiding the UN-backed government in Tripoli to stop migrants from travelling to Europe.
"The various EU governments, Italy in particular, know full well that this is going on," Amnesty's Europe Director John Dalhuisen told AFP in Brussels.
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