Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) conducting search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean told Lusa they face greater difficulties this year in view of the new Italian government’s tightening of its anti-immigration policy, complaining about restrictions on humanitarian access.
In a year that is turning out to be the deadliest since 2017 in the waters of the central Mediterranean, recognized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) as the most dangerous migration route in the world today, NGOs are facing increasing difficulties imposed by legislation adopted earlier in the year by the far-right government led by Giorgia Meloni, which restricts the activities of humanitarian organizations and has already led to the arrest of several search and rescue boats.
The most recent organization to see a seized ship was SOS Méditerranée, whose ship “Ocean Viking” has been detained in the port of Civitavecchia, near Rome, since July 11, for alleged “technical problems” related to the safety of the ship, never before detected in the previous seven controls to which the ship has been subjected in the last four years.
Already after the conversation between the NGO and the Lusa agency, SOS Méditerranée announced on Friday night that the ship “Ocean Viking” had been authorized by the Italian authorities to set sail and continue its journey, after being detained for 10 days. However, the return to rescue operations is not yet defined.
Unlike five other vessels already detained and temporarily detained this year for failing to comply with new Italian legislation – which prevents more than one rescue at a time and dictates that NGO ships must disembark migrants in ports determined by Italian authorities, often quite distant from the rescue site – the “Ocean Viking” was blocked after (another) inspection by Italian port authorities, when it disembarked 57 migrants in Civitavecchia.
Before the decision of the Italian authorities on Friday, and in a telephone interview with Lusa, the deputy director of operations of SOS Méditerranée, an organization based in the French city of Marseille, explained that the situation of the “Ocean Viking” was due to a “restrictive interpretation” of the safety regulations of the ships, regarding the number of crew members certified to operate the lifeboats.
Carla Melki told Lusa that, indeed, “there are more controls [técnicos] than usual” and, when asked why, he simply answers that “the motivation is questionable.
The truth, in his opinion, is that “restrictions on humanitarian access” are taking place in the waters of the central Mediterranean, and just when the work of humanitarian organizations is vital, given the large flow of irregular crossings registered this year, in precarious boats that leave North Africa for Europe, and which has already resulted in nearly 2,000 deaths.
“There is an ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Central Mediterranean. There is a huge need for search and rescue operations. There are not enough operations, so we as humanitarian actors are providing this assistance, until there are large-scale international operations carried out by States to cover all the needs.
In addition to the increasing technical controls on humanitarian ships, which several NGOs denounce as “harassment”, the new practice of the Italian authorities of assigning ports far from the areas where rescues are carried out for the disembarkation of the collected migrants is especially criticized, even going so far as to denounce the new Italian law before the European Commission last week by five NGOs.
Speaking to Lusa, a spokesman for the German NGO Sea-Watch, which has also had ships detained by Italian authorities this year, argued that “forcing ships to enter port after a first rescue violates the duty to rescue in case there are more people in danger at sea.”
For Oliver Kulikowski, there is no doubt about the motivations behind the decree adopted in January 2023 and which became law in March.
“The new Italian government decree is nothing more than an appeal for people to let themselves drown. It is yet another attempt to make it more difficult to rescue civilians at sea, at the same time that the mortality rate in the Mediterranean is the highest since 2017”, he said.
Noting that the allocation of distant ports for the disembarkation of rescued persons “further increases the glaring deficit of salvage in the Mediterranean Sea”, the Sea-Watch spokesperson stated that “the politically motivated allocation of distant ports endangers the health of rescued persons and aims to keep salvage vessels out of the Mediterranean for as long as possible.”
“The Italian Government thus becomes directly responsible for the health consequences on board the rescue ships. We will legally and operationally question this decree, following the international legal framework and fulfilling our duty of rescue, ”he guaranteed.
Several organizations highlight, however, the tireless work of the Italian coast guard in Italian territorial waters, pointing out that the big problem is the absence of a large-scale operation in international waters, especially given the inaction of the Maltese authorities and the attitude – intimidating, they argue – of the Libyan coast guard.
According to SOS Méditerranée, the big problem is that “the central Mediterranean has been completely empty of maritime assets led by European states” since the end of the Italian-led European military and humanitarian operation, called “Mare Nostrum”, between October 2013 and October 2014, during which more than 150,000 people were rescued in less than a year by the Italian coast guard.
However, the “Mare Nostrum” naval and air operation ended after a year, claiming the Italian authorities that, very expensive in view of the means involved, it was unsustainable also in light of the lack of solidarity of the European partners, and because many understood that it was an incentive for irregular crossings.
The operation was replaced by another one by the European Border Agency and the Coast Guard (Frontex), called “Triton”, but which, unlike “Mare Nostrum”, operated closer to the Italian coast and focused more on border protection than search and rescue operations in the high seas, mainly in the hands of NGOs, which now also face the ‘waves’ that are facing an anti-migration while, which includes the Government of the Broteros (which includes the Government of the Broteros de la Migration, (which includes the Government of the Broteros de la Migration, which includes the Government of the Broteros, (which includes the ‘Waves’. ) of the league of Mel Oni and Matteo Salvini.
The same Salvini, former Minister of the Interior, who was the promoter of a policy of closed ports between 2018 and 2019, blocking the disembarkation of many migrants. The politician was the target of lawsuits for the application of such a policy.
Source: TSF
