“Italy’s practices and policies lead directly to more deaths in the Mediterranean,” writes Sasha Ockenden at SOS Humanity to SVT.
One rescue at a time
The new law entered into force in March last year and is part of the government’s stricter migration policy. It states, among other things, that rescue vessels must seek out the assigned port immediately after a rescue operation.
This means that they can only carry out one rescue at a time, and are not allowed to stay at sea to save more boats in distress. Organizations also testify that they are often assigned to ports far from the rescue zones; in northern Italy instead of around Sicily, as before.
“Our ship Aurora was blocked twice, because we were assigned ports too far from our position, which were impossible for us to reach for several reasons (condition of the passengers, weather conditions, lack of fuel)”, writes Oliver Kulikowski on Sea Watch to SVT.
Abandoned boats in distress
Violation of the law can lead to a fine of up to 10,000 euros, and a blocking of the rescue vessel for 20 days. In a recent report Médecins Sans Frontières describes how on several occasions boats were left in distress at sea in order not to break the law.
– The dilemma is to either comply with the authorities in order to avoid a blockade and thus be able to continue the rescue efforts, or on the other hand to respond to the call from people who are in distress at sea, says Jana Chiernioch at Doctors Without Borders.
“Rules are rules”
The aid organizations believe that the Italian law violates international maritime law, and in July five organizations presented a joint complaint to the European Commission.
SVT has presented the criticism to the Italian Ministry of the Interior, and received a written response from its press service:
“The need to regulate the activity of aid organizations so that they do not constitute an incentive for migrants has also been expressed by Frontex. Rules are rules, and they must be respected by the aid organizations.”