Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) accuse the Italian Government, led by Giorgia Meloni, of compromising the safety of migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.
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These criticisms arise as we mark the first anniversary of a law which imposes the assignment of distant ports for rescue landings.
NGOs, including Open Arms and Humanitarian Maritime Rescue of Spainexpress their concern about the increase in deaths in the central Mediterranean, a situation that they directly link to the new Italian regulations.
“Faced with the increasing number of deaths in the central Mediterranean since the beginning of 2023, coinciding with the adoption of a new law by the Italian authorities and the systematic allocation of distant ports to humanitarian rescue ships, we call on the Italian Government to stop immediately from hindering our rescue activities at sea,” they say in a joint statement.
They warn that more than 2,500 people have died or disappeared trying this journey in 2023 alonemaking it the deadliest year since 2017.
🔴 A HISTORICAL SENTENCE!
The Supreme Court of #talia issued a historic sentence that condemns the commander of the tugboat Asso 28, for handing over to the so-called Libyan “Coast Guard” the 101 people rescued from a precarious vessel, in July 2018.
The… pic.twitter.com/bRDiMoz52z
— Open Arms (@openarms_fund) February 20, 2024
(Keep reading: Russia: Alexei Navalny's mother denounces pressure to bury her son 'secretly').
Call to respect human rights
The organizations emphasize the urgency of maximizing rescue efforts, especially after remembering the shipwreck near Cutro, Calabria, where 94 people lost their lives.
They criticize that Italian laws force them to choose between fulfilling their humanitarian duty of rescue, risking sanctions, or abandoning those in danger at sea to their fate. They reveal that, due to these policies, rescue ships have been absent from sea for more than 300 days, preventing them from assisting those facing difficulties.
Another avoidable shipwreck off the coast of #Tunisia. Forty more innocent lives lost at the bottom of the #Med. There are already more than 168 so far this year.
Meanwhile, the Italian government of #Meloni continue to block our ship #OpenArms and hindering the work… pic.twitter.com/JYs2ZtGCSa
— Open Arms (@openarms_fund) February 9, 2024
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The practice of assigning distant ports has forced rescue ships to sail more than 150,500 additional kilometers, resulting in considerable time away from critical rescue areas and delays in medical care and protective services for those rescued. . “This means hundreds of days away from the search and rescue area, where people's lives are in danger”lament the NGOs.
#FREEOPENARMS
The Italian authorities have imposed a 20-day ADMINISTRATIVE blockade on our ship and a fine of between 3 and 10 thousand euros.Our fault? According to the authorities, we prevented the intervention of the so-called Libyan coast guard. This accusation, in addition to being false… pic.twitter.com/IzH3bL9Y4S
— Open Arms (@openarms_fund) January 22, 2024
In response to this crisis, Organizations urge Italy to cease obstruction of rescue missions and comply with international maritime law, facilitating the disembarkation of those rescued at the closest possible points. Its objective is to prevent the central Mediterranean from becoming an “even bigger graveyard”, protecting the fundamental rights of people at risk at sea.
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*This content was rewritten with the assistance of artificial intelligence, based on information from EFE, and was reviewed by a journalist and an editor.
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