As EU elections approach, the Italian branch of SOS Mediterranee has launched a “petition to change the direction of policies on sea rescues” of migrants and refugees, the organization’s director Valeria Taurino said from a port on the Italian island of Sicily.
“We want to launch a petition to change the direction of policies on sea rescues,” Taurino said from onboard the Ocean Viking ship moored at Siracusa port on February 29.
“In a few months there will be European Parliament elections and we believe that they could be a turning point. Over the past year, there have been 16 administrative detentions for NGO ships for having violated the Piantedosi decree, a regulation that undermines the international law of the sea,” she said.
Taurino reiterated the need for change, especially given the actions of Libyan authorities.
“The policy of hindering and criminalizing sea rescues is ever harsher and often these detentions of NGO ships, as happened to us at the beginning of this month, are the result of false information from the Libyan Coast Guard, which in our sea illegally intercepts migrants and pushes them back using force,” Taurino said.
“This has been established by the UN, the Council of Europe and also the Court of Cassation,” she noted.
The Italian branch of SOS Mediterranee has asked for a commitment from candidates for the European Parliament.
“The time has come to say enough is enough. With this petition, we intend to stop all the measures that hinder sea rescues, promote monitoring of compliance with the international law of the sea, and put an end to accords with third countries like Libya, Tunisia and Albania, as well as dangerous and discriminatory practices like the assigning of ports far from the place of disembarking,” Taurino said.
“We are asking that EU funds allocated for border police control be redirected to increasing sea rescues. We pledge to give this petition to European leaders and candidates for the European Parliament to see who among them will commit to supporting these requests for more humane policies,” she added.