The NGO Sea-Eye, which on Tuesday carried out five rescues of migrant boats off the Italian coast, is warning of a “ emergency state » in the Mediterranean Sea.
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A ” emergency state ” in the Mediterranean Sea. This is what a NGO German rescue vessel Sea-Eye announced on Tuesday, July 9, that it had rescued migrant boats five times in 24 hours. Their ship, the Sea-Eye 4, responded to distress calls with two other rescue boats between Sunday and Monday. We rescued a total of 231 people in distresssays Konstanze Schön, a member of the association. Among them was a very pregnant woman and a mother with her newborn baby. “.
” Five rescues in 24 hours. This shows the state of emergency that currently prevails in the Mediterranean and how important it is that we are there to save lives. “, the NGO said in a statement.
After transferring some of them to an Italian coastguard ship, the German vessel was carrying around 170 people to the designated port of Genoa in northern Italy on Tuesday.Italythat can be found “ about 600 nautical miles away “The NGO denounces the long distance from the port and accuses the Italian government of wanting to prevent the work of humanitarian organizations. By sending civilian rescue ships to distant ports – we have to allow six days for the journey to and from Genoa alone – we are losing valuable time in the search and rescue area, during which we cannot help people in need. “, lamented Sea-Eye President Gorden Isler, speaking to our reporter. Julien Chavanne. And to add: ” This policy can have fatal consequences for people seeking protection “.
Read on InfoMigrantsMediterranean: more than 500 migrants rescued in four days by humanitarian ships
Italian law, an obstacle to rescue?
Since coming to power in October 2022, far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s coalition has sought to stem the arrival of migrant boats to Italy from North Africa and accuses the rescue ships of being a ” attraction factor “, even though in reality the vast majority of migrants arriving in Italy are picked up by the coastguard.
To do this, she passed drastic laws against humanitarian ships. Now, the law requires NGOs to go to ” without delay ” in a port immediately after a rescue is completed, a policy that prevents them from carrying out several in a row. NGOs say this violates maritime law, which requires all vessels to come to the aid of a boat in distress. But failure to comply carries a fine of between €2,000 and €10,000, as well as administrative detention for 20 days and, eventually, the permanent seizure of the vessel. Many NGO boats have been detained – sometimes repeatedly – for breaking the law.
“ We will soon exceed 30,000 deaths in the Mediterranean »
Italian courts have overturned several such decisions. Last month, an Italian court ruled that such an order targeting the Sea-Eye 4 was illegal, but the courts have yet to identify the precise legal flaws in the legislation. The NGO said on Tuesday that it had been alerted by the migrant hotline Alarm Phone, but that “tAll operations had been coordinated with the Italian authorities “.
” According to the International Organization for Migration, we will soon exceed 30,000 deaths in the Mediterraneanlaments Konstanze Schön. TAll these figures sadden us greatly and prove that we urgently need an organised sea rescue at European or state level.. »