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Italy has allowed a humanitarian aid ship carrying 179 migrants into a Sicilian port and began disembarking minors.
Meanwhile, the country has refused to respond to safe harbor requests from three other ships carrying more than 900 people in nearby waters.
Italy’s new far-right government has closed its ports to rescue boats run by NGOs and insisted that the country whose ships fly the flag must take in migrants. Earlier on Sunday, it allowed Humanity 1 to enter the port alone, allowing minors and those in need of medical attention to land.
Officials at the German charity that runs Humanity 1 have questioned Italy’s move to distinguish between “vulnerable” migrants, saying all were rescued at sea and that alone would qualify them for safe ports under international law.
Abourbakar Soumahoro, the only black politician in Italy’s lower house, met Humanity 1 in the port of Catania and condemned the government’s closure of the port to NGO ships as a “disgrace”.
“Selective disembarkation is currently underway at the port of Catania,” Mr Soumahoro tweeted. “The corpses of castaways, already worn out by cold, fatigue, trauma and torture, are considered objects by the George Melloni administration.”
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said Friday that Humanity 1 will be allowed to remain in Italian waters just long enough to disembark minors and those in need of urgent medical care.
The measure was approved after Germany and France each called for Italy to provide a safe port for migrants, saying they would take in some so Italy would not bear the burden alone.
No such provision was provided to the other three ships. The Norwegian-flagged Geo Barents carrying 572 migrants and the German-run Rise Above carrying 93 people entered Italian waters east of Sicily this weekend to seek protection from stormy waters, but without Italy’s consent or responses to multiple requests. a safe port.
The Viking of the Seas, operated by European charity SOS Mediteranee, carrying 234 migrants, remains in international waters south of the Strait of Messina. Its requests for the port also went unanswered.
“We have waited 10 days to find a safe place to disembark the 572 survivors,” said Juan Mathias Gill, mission leader of Geo Barents, run by MSF. Rica, head of operations In addition to skin and respiratory infections, Do Gatti said many people on the ship were stressed by being at sea for long periods of time.
SOS Humanity, which operates Humanity 1, said it had made 19 requests for safe ports, but none had been answered. There were 100 unaccompanied minors and an infant as young as 7 months on board.
Italy’s new government insists that countries whose charity boats fly the flag must accept migrants. At a news conference late Friday, Mr Piandossi described the ships as “islands” under the jurisdiction of the flag state.
Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini, known for his anti-immigration stance, cheered the new directive he signed with Italy’s defense and interior ministers.
“We are no longer hostage to these foreign and private NGOs that organize routes, traffic, transport and immigration policy,” Mr Salvini said in a Facebook video, reiterating his allegations that the presence of the boats encouraged smuggling By.
NGOs object to this interpretation, saying that under the law of the sea they are obliged to rescue people in distress and coastal states are obliged to provide safe ports as soon as possible.
“The decree of the Italian interior minister is unquestionably illegal,” said Mirka Schaefer, publicity officer for SOS Humanity. “The expulsion of refugees at the Italian border violates the Geneva Refugee Convention and international law.”
Most pass through Libya, where they set off on unseaworthy boats in search of a better life in Europe, often facing abuse from human traffickers along the way.
While humanitarian-operated ships have been denied safe ports, thousands of migrants arrived on Italian shores last week, either on fishing boats alone or rescued at sea by Italian authorities.
On Saturday, 147 people arrived in Augusta, including 59 on the Zagara, a tanker carrying two bodies.
Rise Above, run by German NGO Mission Lifeline, is said to be in particularly critical condition, with a relatively small 25-meter (82-foot) boat packed with 93 people.
Spokesman Hermine Poschmann described a “very critical situation…leading to a very tense situation” on board as passengers saw land and did not understand why they did not dock.
The ship’s mission chief, Clemens Ledwa, called for the immediate establishment of a safe port, citing inclement weather and the limited capacity of the boat.
“It’s not a wish. It’s everyone’s right,” he said Friday night.
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