Italy’s New Rules for NGO Rescue Vessels Blasted by Amnesty, HRW

Desperate to slow down the astonishing migration of Africans into Italy, and the near abandonment of the EU, the country has responded with new rules to govern NGO rescue ships. It is becoming clear that these ships work with Libyan people smugglers in order to get as many migrants safely across the Mediterranean as possible.

© Alkis Konstantinidis / Reuters

The Italian government has drawn up a draft plan to limit migrant rescue operations in the Mediterranean. Both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International claim the measures are punitive and would severely endanger lives.

“Perversely, the proposed code of conduct for NGOs saving lives in the Mediterranean could put lives at risk,” said Iverna McGowan, director of the Amnesty International, European Institutions Office, as cited by HRW.  

“Attempts to restrict NGO search and rescue operations risk endangering thousands of lives by limiting rescue boats from accessing the perilous waters near Libya.”

The leaked 11-point plan, seen by both HRW and Amnesty, will be presented in the coming days to a total of nine NGOs who regularly operate migrant rescue boats off Libya.

The proposed code of conduct for rescue NGOs constitutes a last-ditch effort to stem the flow of migrants into Italy, which has decried a lack of support from its European allies.

"The call of the Italian government on European solidarity is completely justified," European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said as cited by DW.

"Italy has shown a level of solidarity with refugees that is almost unprecedented in European history over the last couple of years."

However, the draft proposal may be seen as more of an ultimatum than a code of conduct, as non-compliant NGOs risk being barred from Italian ports.

The proposed rules include a ban on making telephone calls or using flares to communicate with human traffickers along the Libyan coast – a signal that the migrant boats can launch.

This is almost certainly what 'Defend Europe' is referring to when they accuse NGOs of collaboration with human smugglers.

NGO boats will also be barred from entering Libyan territorial waters without clear indications that human lives are at risk.

The private rescue groups will also be forced to allow Italian police to travel on board to enforce the new rules and help weed out any potential human traffickers that may have smuggled themselves aboard among the migrants.

In addition, the proposal expressly forbids the transfer of passengers between boats, greatly limiting the potential number of rescues possible in a given mission.

Both Amnesty and HRW received leaked versions of the draft proposal and warned that the new rules could dramatically hamper their work with potentially disastrous consequences.

"Attempts to restrict NGO search and rescue operations risk endangering thousands of lives by limiting rescue boats from accessing the perilous waters near Libya," said McGowan, as cited by Reuters.

Some 85,217 migrants have been rescued and brought to shore in Italy so far this year, according to Italian Interior Ministry data released Wednesday. This marks an 8.9 percent increase year-on-year.  

Italy has accepted more than half a million migrants and refugees in the past four years.

A small group of charity boats has vastly increased its intake of migrants in the past three years, from less than one percent of the total in 2014 to just over one third of all migrants rescued so far this year.

The UNHCR claims the private rescue teams are now responsible for up to 41 percent.

 The Italian government has grown increasingly hostile towards migrant rescue NGOs in recent months and exasperated with the lack of assistance provided by their European allies in handling the crisis.

"Progress has been made regarding migration policy, but it is not yet sufficient," Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni told reporters Wednesday, as cited by Reuters.

Human Rights Watch described the draft proposal as "flawed," warning that thousands more refugees and migrants could die if such measures were implemented.

‘Defend Europe’: Far-right Activists Launch Mission to Rescue, Send Back Illegals from Libya

I seriously doubt that anything good can come from this. It is, however, an unfortunate indication of what a pathetic failure EU efforts have been to curb the extraordinary migration of Muslims into Europe.

© AFP

Far-right activists from the Identitarian movement have charted a ship to fight illegal migration off the Libyan coast and to expose what they describe as alleged collaboration between European NGOs operating in the area and human traffickers.

A 40-meter-long ship called the C-Star, which was charted by the group, set sail from the African port of Djibouti on July 6 and is expected to take the far-right activists via the Sicilian port of Catania next week before reaching the relief zone of the Libyan coast.

The operation, called "Defend Europe," is run by the pan-European Identitarian Movement – a vast network of nationalist, far-right, nativist and populist movements across several European countries, including France, Germany, Austria and Italy.

In this particular case, the French, German and Italian branches of the movement participated in the initiative that was launched as the activists managed to raise more than $ 91,000 in an online fundraiser campaign they launched in mid-May.

The fundraising campaign was successful, even despite the fact that the online payment system Paypal froze the activists’ accounts after a massive opposition campaign, as reported by the France's Liberation newspaper.

The funds were eventually used to lease the C-Star and its crew. On the campaign's website, the far-right activists wrote that the goal of the mission was to “save Europe, to stop illegal immigration, and end the dying in the sea.”

They went on to say that, once they reach the relief zone off the Libyan coast, they will “document the doings of the NGOs, expose their collaboration with the human smugglers, and intervene if they do something illegal.”

The activists also pledged support to the Libyan Coast Guard by saying that their vessel could serve as a “recon ship.”

The Identitarians also branded their initiative as a “search and rescue mission” and said that if they get a SOS signal they will “of course save the people in distress - and hand them over to the Libyan Coast Guard to make sure that they are brought to the closest harbour, according to international law.”

They further said that their "’No Way’ policy for illegal immigration will discourage human traffickers and NGOs to lure people into the sea.”

The far-right activists also said that the activities of the NGOs operating off the Libyan coast and saving migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe only stimulate human traffickers to send refugees and migrants to the sea in small overloaded and poorly equipped boats, thus exposing them to a greater risk.

The initiative has already provoked concerns among some NGOs engaged in sea rescue operations, and they have said that the arrival of the vessel charted by the Identitarians could disrupt their operations. The French authorities also criticized the move as a “provocation” and a “hindrance” to relief efforts, French media report, adding that the issue was already referred to a court.

The Identitarian movement is known for its staunch anti-immigrant position and protests against what it describes as “Islamization of Europe.” In one such action, the members of the Austrian branch of the movement covered a statue of the 18th-century Empress Maria Theresa in Vienna with a huge burqa in December 2016.

A sign reading "Islamization? No thanks!" was placed next to the statue.

In May, some 50 activists from the German branch of the Identitarian Movement attempted to “raid” the Justice Ministry building in Berlin using a 10-meter-long ladder in a protest against a proposed law designed to fight hate speech on social media.

EU Proposes Supporting Libya to Tackle Migrant Crisis

The only question is, why did it take the EU 2 years to come up with this idea?

One would have thought it to be the first thing they would think of.

By Andrew V. Pestano

Scores of migrants cling to the hull of a fishing boat as it made its way across the Mediterranean Sea 

on May 25. Europe has been dealing with a migrant crisis for years. Libya is now being used as a

gateway to smuggle people out of north Africa into Europe and EU leaders in Malta on Thursday

discussed possible ways to curb the circumstance. Photo courtesy Marina Militare Italiana

(UPI) -- European Union leaders in a Malta meeting proposed supporting the Libyan coast guard through training and equipment, and increasing actions against human smugglers in efforts to curb an inflow of migrants.

Human smugglers have been using Libya, which has a split government and no nationwide security apparatus in place, as a gateway to smuggle people from various African countries to Europe following a deal between the EU and Turkey, once the gateway, to tackle the migrant crisis.

Italy's coast guard on Thursday said more than 1,750 migrants had been rescued in the Mediterranean Sea within 24 hours. More than 180,000 migrants reached Italy last year, while about 5,000 died along the way.

The EU has a military presence in the Mediterranean Sea in the international waters off the coast of Libya but EU leaders have proposed increasing that support to find and shut down existing human smuggling routes.

"The status quo is unacceptable and something has to be done, this is why we want to train the Libyan coast guard and engage with communities inside the country," a EU diplomat said in Malta.

EU leaders in Malta also want humanitarian repatriation of migrants whose asylum requests have been rejected and improved conditions for migrants. Prior to the Malta meeting, EU Council President Donald Tusk said breaking up human smuggling operations and stopping dangerous sea travel "is the only way to stop people dying in the desert and at sea, and this is also the only way to gain control over migration in Europe."

Fayez al-Seraj, Libya's leader who leads a fragile U.N.-backed government, on Thursday met with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni to sign a bilateral agreement to increase cooperation and to fight against human smuggling.

"If we want to give real strength and legs to managing migration flows, then there needs to be an economic commitment by the whole of the EU," Gentiloni said Thursday.