The anti-racism demonstration was held Saturday to shine light on the plight of migrants and their lack of rights in Italy… and Europe, Reuters reported.
More than 600,000 migrants have reached Italy since 2014, while some 13,000 have died trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Libya.
Filippo Miraglia, who works with a human rights NGO, says Italy and Europe are moving in a dangerous direction, where human rights are being sacrificed for political purposes.
In a bid to manage the influx of migrants ahead of elections next year, Italy has increased its support for the Libyan coast guard. Officials say sea arrivals to Italy are down by a quarter so far this year.
But the Council of Europe warns that any moves to return migrants to Libya would break international treaties.
The United Nations, and many of these protesters, are calling for Europe to create safe and legal pathways for refugees… so they will not try to reach Europe by making the dangerous journey through Libya.