Several international NGOs involved in rescue for migrants in the Mediterranean denounced, Thursday, January 5, the will of the far-right Italian government "
to hinder assistance to people in distress
" by a decree on rescues at sea which will lead, according to them, to new shipwrecks.
This decree, which entered into force at the start of the week, "
obviously targets search and rescue NGOs, but it is the people in distress when crossing the central Mediterranean who will suffer the consequences
", lamented Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and twenty other organizations in a joint press release.
They expressed their "
serious concern about the umpteenth attempt by a European government to obstruct assistance to people in distress at sea
".
A deadly road
Under the terms of the Italian text, ships must go “
without delay
” to an Italian port after each operation, which “
will reduce the rescue capacities
” of boats which generally chain several rescues in a row and thus make “
even more dangerous
” this migratory route, one of the deadliest in the world.
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This injunction aims, according to the NGOs, to "
keep the vessels (...) out of the rescue zone for prolonged periods
".
The decree "
is in contradiction with international maritime law, human rights and European law
", they further denounced, calling on Italian parliamentarians, who have two months to transform this decree into law, to comply with it. oppose.
The text calls for "
a strong reaction
" from Europe, demanded these organizations.
Asked about this decree, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, Anitta Hipper, urged Italy on Thursday to “
respect international legislation and the law of the sea
”.
The government of Giorgia Meloni came to power in October promising to stop the arrival of migrants in Italy, which saw more than 105,000 in 2022 by sea, according to the Italian Ministry of the Interior.
Most were rescued and brought ashore by the Italian navy or coastguard, not humanitarian ships.
More than 20,000 people have died or disappeared since 2014 while attempting the crossing from North Africa, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
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