Belgium (Brussels Morning Newspaper) Three ships operated by humanitarian NGOs, carrying nearly 1,000 migrants between them, are unsuccessfully seeking permission from Italy and Malta to dock in their ports and provide aid to rescued migrants.
The captains of the three ships reportedly claim their passengers are in need of urgent assistance. All three have been at sea for more than a week now, and say all their requests to dock so far have been refused.
The refusal by the Italian authorities to accept the ships in the country’s harbours indicates that the new right-wing government of Prime Minister Georgia Meloni is likely to resume a hardline stance against migrants, which was previously adopted by former Interior Minister Matteo Salvini. Salvini’s party, the League, is currently one of the junior partners in Meloni’s ruling coalition.
Geo Barents, a charity ship operated by Doctors Without Borders (MSF), reported on Wednesday that it had 572 “men, women and children still waiting for a safe port”. SOS Mediterranee’s Ocean Viking reported 234 migrants on board, while German SOS Humanity’s vessel Humanity 1 said it had 179 people onboard.
Breach of international laws
According to humanitarian NGOs, the governments’ refusal to allow their ships to dock represents a grave breach of maritime law. The ships rescued the migrants in the Mediterranean sea, in accordance with the international convention for the Safety of Life at Sea.
In its press release, SOS Mediterranee notes that maritime states are obliged to assign “a Place of Safety as soon as reasonably practicable”, an obligation Italy and Malta continue to ignore despite the ships being at sea for more than a week. The responsibility for providing a place of safety legally lies with the government responsible for the search and rescue region in which the rescued persons were recovered.
“The people rescued are absolutely exhausted, dehydrated, with psychological distress, and some requiring immediate medical attention,” said Frido Herinckx, operations manager with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), which is cooperating with SOS Mediterranee.
“We provided health care, food, water, hygiene items, psychological first aid and an opportunity to call and connect with family members. But they cannot afford to wait any longer, this uncertainty is making the situation unbearable with stress growing day by day. They urgently need a port of safety,” said Herinckx.
Children and pregnant women
SOS Humanity stressed that their ship is currently housing more than 100 unaccompanied minors, as well as a 7-month old baby. “In addition to signs of physical violence, including scars from gunshots and cut wounds, the after-effects of traumatic experiences in their countries of origin and while fleeing are evident,” the organisation published on its Twitter page. “More than a week has passed since the rescues. These people, especially the unaccompanied minors, need a place of safety.”
According to the head of rescue teams on MSF’s Geo Barents, Riccardo Gatti, they have three pregnant women and more than 60 minors onboard, including an 11-month old infant. “The 572 people on board the Geo Barents all risked their lives to cross the Mediterranean,” said Gatti.
“Although we informed the Maltese authorities in due time and repeatedly asked for their support, all our requests remained unanswered. The inaction of some states, particularly Malta, is glaring, as that country willfully fails to provide or find a safe place to disembark,” stressed Gatti. The Maltese government did not reply to a request for comment by Reuters.
Former Italian Interior Minister Salvini is currently facing trial under charges of kidnapping over his refusal to let rescue ships disembark in Italy in 2019. Former Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s government ended the practice, but the new Meloni government seems set to reintroduce it.
Threatening NGOs
In her first address to the Italian parliament, Meloni said she wanted to stop sea departures and stressed that her government would not allow people to enter Italy illegally. While she appointed Salvini as Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister, she left the Interior Ministry in League’s hands by appointing Salvini’s former chief of staff Matteo Piantedosi as the new Minister.
In comments given to author Bruno Vespa, intended to be published in a book, Meloni accused charities such as MSF and SOS Mediterranee of breaching international law themselves, by acting as a “shuttle” between Europe and Africa.
According to the new Italian PM, the surviving migrants rescued at sea should be received by the flag nations of the ships rescuing them, such as Germany or Norway. In a case of blatant disregard for maritime law, Meloni threatened that such ships would become pirate ships unless their flag countries recognise them and take care of the migrants aboard.
In a joint press release on Tuesday, SOS Mediterranee and IFRC urged all EU members and associated states to respect maritime law, cooperate in designating a Place of Safety for rescued survivors, and to “put an end to the suffering of hundreds of men, women and children.”
