UN decries dangerous migrant pushbacks
>>GENEVA: The UN voiced alarm on Friday at reports that countries are failing to help migrants in distress on the Mediterranean Sea, blocking assistance by NGOs and coordinating pushbacks of their boats.
UN rights office spokesman Rupert Colville warned during a virtual press briefing that such measures “are clearly putting lives at risk”.
“We are deeply concerned about recent reports of failure to assist and coordinated pushbacks of migrant boats in the central Mediterranean, which continues to be one of the deadliest migration routes,” he said.
More than 100,000 migrants tried to cross the Mediterranean last year with 1,200 dying in the attempt, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration.
And so far this year, more than 250 migrants have perished trying to make the perilous crossing.
Mr Colville pointed to claims that distress calls to Maritime Rescue Coordination centres “have gone unanswered or been ignored”.
“If true,” he said, this “seriously calls into question the commitments of the states concerned to saving lives and respecting human rights”.
He decried reports that Maltese authorities had asked commercial ships to push boats with migrants in distress back into the high seas.
And he lamented that humanitarian search and rescue vessels that usually patrol the central Mediterranean have been prevented from helping migrants, even as the numbers of attempted crossings surge.
During the first three months of this year, departures from Libya increased four-fold compared to the same period in 2019, Mr Colville said, stressing that migrants and refugees embarking on such journeys were entitled to protection under international law.
“Yet, since April 9, both Italy and Malta have declared their ports ‘unsafe’ for disembarkation,” he said.
Italy, the most common destination for rescue boats, has been one of the most affected countries in the pandemic, with nearly 30,000 deaths.
As a result of port closures, at least three vessels with migrants are awaiting disembarkation, Mr Colville said.
He pointed to reports that a small group of adults, including pregnant women, and children were allowed to disembark on Thursday after the Maltese government made a concession on humanitarian grounds.
“While we welcome this effort, we call for all migrants currently being held onboard these vessels to be disembarked, as the conditions on merchant vessels are not suitable,” he said.