An Italian court has declared illegal a decree adopted at the end of 2022 by the right-wing government allowing only the most vulnerable migrants to disembark from a rescue ship, a humanitarian NGO said on Monday (February 13th).
This judgment has its origin in the restrictions imposed in November on the ship Humanity 1, under the German flag, which had collected 179 people in distress in the central Mediterranean, the deadliest passage in the world for migrants.
Legal proceedings initiated
The ship had been allowed to dock in the Sicilian port of Catania, but only long enough to disembark its 144 most vulnerable passengers.
The remaining 35 migrants had initially been forced to stay on board.
Similar restrictions were imposed at the time on the Geo Barents, a ship run by the NGO Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
Finally, following strong criticism from associations and the UN, all the migrants were authorized to disembark.
Read alsoOcean Viking: totally overwhelmed, justice has freed most migrants
But the 35 migrants who remained on board Humanity 1 began legal proceedings against the Italian state and a court in Catania on February 6 declared the decree "illegal",
according
to a press release published on Monday by SOS Humanity.
"
It is clear that among the international obligations assumed by our country, there is that of providing assistance to each shipwrecked person, without distinction on the basis of health,
" says the Catania court, whose judgment has been posted online .
“
The said decree is therefore illegal insofar as it only allows relief to people whose health is precarious, thus contravening international obligations
”, specifies the court.
The obligation of one rescue at a time
The Italian right and far-right parties, which emerged victorious in the elections last September, had pledged to put an end to the arrivals of tens of thousands of migrants who land on the Italian coasts each year.
A new decree-law was thus adopted in January, obliging humanitarian ships to carry out only one rescue at a time.
Read alsoThe management of migrants opens a violent crisis between France and Italy
NGOs and the Council of Europe have denounced the text, saying it violates international maritime law and urging lawmakers not to pass it this week when it is presented to parliament.
NGO ships only rescue around 10% of migrants arriving in Italy, with most being rescued by the coastguard or navy.
But the government accuses the associations of acting as a force of attraction for migrants and encouraging smugglers.
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