The Italian government is readying a law to force the flag states of NGO ships to take care of migrants rescued in the Mediterranean, but applying the new approach may face practical difficulties.
Following a diplomatic crisis between France and Italy over the Ocean Viking ship, which has set sail under a Norwegian flag, the Italian government is mulling introducing a code of conduct that NGOs should respect in Italian waters. The code will be part of a decree expected in the coming weeks.
“I hope that by the end of the year, the decree on the code for NGOs will be ready. This decree will penalise those NGOs that do not respect rules that will be included in the measure”, said Home Affairs Undersecretary Nicola Molteni.
ANSA quoted sources close to the matter as saying that rescuers will have to immediately ask the migrants taken on board whether they plan to apply for international protection.
Once arriving at a safe port and disembarking, the source explained that the ship’s flag state would then be responsible for receiving the migrant.
The safe port for disembarkation will be the one closest to the vessel at the time of rescue, but it is not yet clear how Italy will manage the transfer of migrants to their destination country.
According to the Dublin Convention, the ‘first Member State’ at the border or where the migrant arrives or is located is competent to examine the asylum application.
Under international law, a country’s flag vessel is its territorial extension. However, the UNHCR and the European Court of Human Rights have clarified that this principle cannot legitimise the application of Dublin if ships are not equipped to carry out identification procedures for migrants and allow them to apply for asylum.
Therefore, it is not clear how the code of conduct proposed by Italy can apply in practice.
In addition, the sources stated that the code stipulates that rescuers, in the case of interventions in the SAR (Special Administrative Regions), must immediately request a port of disembarkation to which they can proceed after the rescue, thus avoiding remaining days at sea waiting for rescue.
In practice, NGO ships already systematically request a safe port of disembarkation, but, faced with the refusal of several border states such as Italy and Malta, they are forced to remain at sea.
Molteni stated that those who violate the rules dictated by the code would incur administrative sanctions and, in the case of reiteration of the violation, penalties up to and including the confiscation of the ship by the Italian authorities.
In 2017, the Italian government led by Matteo Renzi (Renew) had already adopted a 13-point code of conduct for NGOs. Save the Children, Migrant offshore aid station (Moas), Proactiva Open Arms, Sos Mediterranée, Médecins Sans Frontières signed the document accepting its rules.
The code proposed by the Meloni government could be inspired by the 2017 code. However, the rules to be introduced “are derived from international conventions”, Molteni clarified.
At the 10th anniversary ceremony of Fratelli d’Italia, the party of which Giorgia Meloni is president, the premier stressed that the issue of immigration is on the agenda in Europe thanks to Italy.
“Italy has stopped supinely accepting something unacceptable and has raised its head: the result is that we will talk about the problem”, Meloni said on Saturday. “Now we start from the defence of our national interest”, she concluded.
(Federica Pascale | EURACTIV.it)
Source: euractiv.com
