Fostering Accountability for Human Rights Violations in EU Border Externalization Through the European Ombudsman: The Case of Contesting Financial Support to the Libyan Coast Guard

Abstract

This article explores the challenges to accountability for human rights violations resulting from the externalization of border control through EU funding. It focuses on EU assistance to the Libya as an exemplary case of the systemic failure to condition EU funds to fundamental rights compliance. After showing the limits of traditional mechanisms of legal accountability, it highlights the potentiality of innovative and flexible administrative accountability avenues. It frames the European Ombudsman as a promising, but underexplored, avenue to contest the employment of EU funds in this contest, albeit acknowledging limitations linked to the lack of enforcement powers.