Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, December 31. The Italian government approved a decree on the 29th to strictly restrict the boats of private charity organizations from carrying out stowaway boat rescue operations in the Mediterranean , aiming to reduce the number of illegal immigrants entering Italian coastal areas. Many international aid groups are dissatisfied with this new rule, saying that it may delay rescue and lead to the death of more illegal immigrants.
According to the German Press Agency, according to new regulations, rescue ships must immediately sail to a designated port after completing a rescue, and cannot continue to rescue other distressed ships carrying illegal immigrants at sea; under normal circumstances, rescue ships will find a port to dock after rescuing multiple batches of immigrants in distress. Violations of the new regulations will be punishable by fines of up to 50,000 euros, and if violations are repeated, the rescue vessel may be confiscated or detained.
On November 5, 2015, a refugee sat on the roadside outside the gate of the Mineo Refugee Reception Center located 70 kilometers west of Catania, the second largest city in Sicily, Italy. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ye Pingfan
In addition, the new regulations require rescued persons to state whether they plan to apply for asylum, which European Union country to apply for asylum to, and fill in the application materials before disembarking.
Among the main smuggling routes into EU , Italy is the main entry point from North Africa to Europe via the Mediterranean. These illegal immigrants often cross the sea in crowded and crude boats, and many of them die on the way.
Associated Press cited data from the Italian Ministry of the Interior and reported that since the beginning of this year, more than 103,000 illegal immigrants have arrived in Italy, an increase of 55% over the same period last year.
This is the Bardonecchia train station photographed in Bardonecchia, Italy on September 19, 2017. Illegal immigrants mostly arrive here by train and then walk over the mountains and across the border to France. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Yichen
According to the Italian government, the reason for restricting the operations of private rescue ships is because such operations attract more illegal immigrants to embark on the smuggling journey, which actually provides convenience to smugglers in the Mediterranean. In November this year, the Italian government once refused to allow two rescue ships carrying hundreds of rescued people to dock, sparking criticism.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said at the year-end press conference on the 229th that the new regulations will enable those non-governmental organizations that implement migrant rescue at sea to act in accordance with international law.
In addition to the new regulations, the ports of call designated by the Italian government are moving further and further north, away from immigrant smuggling routes.
The European humanitarian rescue agency "Mediterranean SOS" said on the 29th that the "Sea Viking" rescue ship it operates rescued 113 people from an overloaded rubber boat two days ago, including multiple pregnant women, 3 newborns and 30 unaccompanied children. It is now sailing to the northern Italian port city of Ravenna . It is far away from the central Mediterranean route and takes 4 days to reach.
Oliver Kulikovsky from the German Ocean Observation Organization said that the new regulations introduced by Italy will lead to more drowning incidents. "If more people are in danger at sea and the rescue ship is forced to enter the port, it will violate the rescue obligation."
In recent years, the tide of illegal immigrants has intensified, and Mediterranean countries such as Italy, Cyprus, Greece and Malta have come under pressure. They criticize other EU countries for not fulfilling their commitments enough to share the burden of hosting illegal immigrants. (Chen Dan)
