The Italian authorities have assigned the ship of the NGO Doctors Without Borders (MSF) a port where it can disembark 69 migrants and refugees rescued in the Mediterranean, although the NGO has denounced that «history repeats itself» and is again at a great distance, «about 100 hours of navigation from the location of the ‘Geo Barents'».
«There are closer ports,» the NGO has pointed out, recalling that this is not the first time that the Italian authorities have resorted to this type of technique, in which the organizations see a tactic to deter search and rescue activity in the central Mediterranean.
For MSF, which has spoken out on social networks, this type of authorization goes «against international maritime law and guidelines». Among the 69 people rescued there are at least 25 minors, including two five-year-old girls.
The arrival of the far-right to the Italian government has meant a hardening of policies towards NGOs, which continue to demand clear disembarkation mechanisms and institutional monitoring of the migratory route across the Mediterranean. So far in 2023 alone, at least 27 people have died in the central area, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
