The UN has called for the «urgent» disembarkation of nearly 600 migrants and refugees who remain trapped on four NGO boats after being rescued in central Mediterranean waters, the result of a tightening of policies following the coming to power of Giorgia Meloni’s government.
The Italian authorities have only allowed the disembarkation of the migrants considered most vulnerable — some 400 people — but organizations have warned in recent hours that the situation on board is untenable, largely because there is no short-term certainty.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) have acknowledged Rome’s gesture, but believe it is also necessary for the remaining migrants to disembark «without further delay», as the NGOs concerned have been demanding in recent days.
«We urge the countries of the region to protect the lives of the rescued people by ending the current ‘impasse’ and offering a safe place,» the two agencies have claimed, without specifically alluding to Italy, which has appealed on numerous occasions to the solidarity of other countries.
In fact, UNHCR and IOM have recognized that there must be some mechanism «to combat responsibility», insofar as «it is not sustainable» to go negotiating case by case and that EU countries with external borders take full responsibility for migrants and refugees.
They have also called for a rescue mechanism driven from the EU, insisting that helping people who are in danger is a «humanitarian imperative» that is also enshrined in international law. So far this year alone, more than 1,300 people have perished in the central Mediterranean.
«Above all, the priority must be to save lives and respect human dignity,» stressed the two organizations, which have recalled the «serious abuses and human rights violations» that migrants often suffer, both at source and during their transit to Europe, especially in Libya.
