Norwegian-registered ships have ended up in the middle of a stormy Italian debate about who is responsible for boat refugees in the Mediterranean. The situation is still unclear for several hundred migrants who are refused entry to Italy. In recent weeks, representatives from several aid organisations, such as Doctors Without Borders and SOS Méditerannée, have saved several hundred people on board rescue ships in the Mediterranean. According to international treaties, in such cases the ships must be able to dock at the “nearest safe port”. As that port will in many cases be Italian, the new Italian government has put its foot down. The boats have been refused to dock, to prevent what the authorities in the country believe is a threat to Italy’s right to guard its own borders. LAND IN SIGHT: 358 women, children and the sick were allowed to disembark on Sunday evening. 214 men did not. Photo: GIOVANNI ISOLINO / AFP Only women and children On Saturday last week, the boat Humanity 1, which is operated by a German voluntary organization, was finally allowed to dock at the port of Catania in Sicily. 144 women, children and the sick were allowed to disembark. 35 men had to stay on the boat. Italy has ordered Humanity 1 to go back to sea with these people on board, but the captain has so far refused. On Sunday evening, the Norwegian-registered boat Geo Barents had to dock, after high waves made the situation unmanageable. In this case too, the disembarkation was governed by a new decree from the Italian government: Only women, children and the sick are allowed to get off the boat. 211 people are still on board, after three men jumped into the water on Monday afternoon to get away from the ship. DEMONSTRATING: The migrants on board the Geo Barents received support from demonstrators on Monday. Photo: Salvatore Cavalli / AP – In violation of international law The situation on board is “very critical”, says Jack Herheim from Doctors Without Borders in Norway. – These people have been sitting for days in a sinking boat before they were rescued. When you then lie at the dock and see that others are allowed to go ashore while you have to stay behind, it is clear that it is felt to be very heavy, says Herheim. He believes that the criteria for who will be allowed to land are unclear and that the new government’s practice is unacceptable. – We have been asked to leave Italian waters with those remaining on board. We believe that would be contrary to international law. We will now appeal this to a higher court in Italy, he says. – Where they think we should take the refugees on board, we don’t know. – Send them to Norway As the Italian authorities see it, there are other countries that should contribute. Italy’s minister for maritime affairs, Nello Musumeci, was clear in an interview in Italy’s largest daily newspaper on Monday this week: It is Norway that must step in, when the rescue boat is registered in Norway. “A boat is part of the state. And the law requires a state to take responsibility for those it has rescued,” said Musumeci. It was the same message that the country’s transport minister Matteo Salvini had been making for several days, not least on social media. The answer is simple, Salvini announced: They must go to Norway. TO NORWAY: Italy’s transport minister believes Norwegian-registered boats that rescue people at sea should travel to Norway with those they have taken on board. This is an interpretation of the law of the sea that Norway in no way shares. In a statement from the Norwegian embassy this weekend, the Norwegian ambassador in Rome made it clear: “Norway does not have a responsibility under the human rights conventions or the law of the sea for persons taken on board private Norwegian-flagged ships in the Mediterranean”. “A slap in Italy’s face” While the Norwegian authorities seem convinced that the argument holds up legally, the public debate in Italy shows that it is not necessarily sufficient to convince the Italian government – or public opinion. Norway’s “no” has been high on the media’s radar throughout the weekend, and Italian journalists have been sent to Oslo to find out more about the Norwegian authorities’ view of the matter. A blow to Italy’s face, reported the newspaper Il Tempo, while the newspaper Il Giornale agreed with that formulation. Another Norwegian-registered boat, Ocean Viking, is still outside Italian waters and is awaiting word on where it can land. French authorities have indicated they may be willing to take some of the migrants on board, but would prefer them to be disembarked in Italy first, in accordance with current international agreements.
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Norway has ended up in the middle of the Italian migration debate – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
