Reacting to a vote in the Italian Parliament approving new, stricter requirements for charities rescuing migrants at sea, along with the possibility of fining and confiscating their boats, Matteo de Bellis, Amnesty International researcher on migration, has stated:
“It is clear that the objective of these measures is to hinder NGOs carrying out vital search and rescue missions in the central Mediterranean. This is part of the effort to ensure that as many people as possible are intercepted by Libyan coast guards and returned to Libya, where they are subjected to arbitrary detention and torture.
This new legislation—along with the practice of ‘distant ports‘, which requires NGO boats to disembark rescued people in ports far removed from where rescues normally take place – may lead to more deaths at sea. It will inevitably cause further suffering to shipwreck survivors.and greater criminalization of the legitimate work of those who defend human rights.”
Additional information
On February 15, 2023, the Italian Chamber of Deputies approved legislation incorporating Decree Law No. 1 of January 2, 2023, previously adopted by the Italian government, into ordinary legislation. This legislation will now go to the Senate, where it is scheduled to be voted on by March 2, 2023.
Several bodies, including the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, have criticized the new legislation and the practice of “distant ports ”, which could contravene Italy’s obligations under international law and deprive people in distress at sea of receiving vital assistance from rescue NGOs.
– Amnesty International analysis of the two measures.
– Amnesty International recommendations on how to address the situation of refugees and migrants in the central Mediterranean.