Italian Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese and representatives from NGOs working in migrant search and rescue in the Mediterranean met on Friday. The ministry called the gathering "a first step for the start of a direct dialogue between the parties."
Private search and rescue missions in the Mediterranean rely on donations to stay afloat — literally. But not all of them seem to benefit the same way from recent publicity about NGO sea rescues. Following a spike earlier this summer, donations are hitting a new low.
The Sea Watch 3 captain, who memorably defied Italy's landing ban, chastised EU lawmakers for the situation in the Mediterranean. She said rescuers were legally compelled not to return migrants to Libya as it is unsafe.
An Italian newspaper claims that three of the 40 rescued migrants who came to Italy in June with German NGO ship Sea-Watch 3 ran a migrant detention center near in Libya where migrants were tortured. Police allegedly concealed their arrest, which happened on the day of their disembarkation.
She is the sea captain who stood up to Italy's former interior minister Matteo Salvini. In late June, as Salvini refused to take in migrants, Carola Rackete defied authorities and entered the port of Lampedusa in southern Italy, where she disembarked 42 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean by her humanitarian ship, the Sea-Watch 3. The German captain was arrested but a court ordered her release. She spoke to FRANCE 24's Marc Perelman.
The Mediterranean route remains one of the deadliest migration routes in the world. German NGO Sea-Watch has operated reconnaissance flights as part of its mission to prevent deaths on the high seas.
As a result of new amendments to Italy’s security decree, fines up to one million euros could be imposed on private rescue organizations who attempt to disembark rescued migrants in Italy or defy refusals to enter Italian waters. The latest amendments were passed into law by Italy’s upper house, the Senate, on Monday, August 5.
Mariam, a 23-year-old woman from Liberia, was rescued by the Sea-Watch 3 in June and taken to Lampedusa. InfoMigrants spoke to her shortly after her arrival on the Italian island.
Sea-Watch 3 captain Carola Rackete has pleaded with authorities not to be distracted from the humanitarian crisis off the coast of Libya. She said the EU needs to stop cooperating with the Libyan coast guard.
The recent cases of the vessels Sea-Watch 3, Alex, and Alan Kurdi mark one year since the standoff began between migrant rescue NGOs and Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini over his closed-port policy.
German NGO Sea-Watch said it wants to share the donations it has collected for captain Carola Rackete with other migrant rescue organizations that operate in the Mediterranean. Sea-Watch 3 captain Rackete, who is hiding in Italy, said she doesn’t want to return to Germany for the time being.
Stand-offs between the Italian government and private rescue organizations have become fairly commonplace in the last year. With each side laying claim to having the right on their side, it can sometimes be difficult to understand what is going on. So InfoMigrants decided to look more closely at the International Law of the Sea for some clarification.