Migrant lives at risk after rescue missions scaled down, warns UN
A TOTAL of 58 migrants rescued by the Aquarius disembarked in Malta yesterday as the UN warned lives were being put at risk because European countries had scaled back search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean.
The migrants, mostly Libyans, were rescued from two vessels and had been at sea for more than a week before being transferred offshore from the charity ship to a Libyan coastguard vessel, in order to avoid trouble with the Maltese authorities.
“All migrants who disembarked in Malta will be transferred to four other European countries in the next few days,” Joseph Muscat, the Maltese prime minister, said in a statement.
Malta said it had participated in the rescue effort “on purely humanitarian grounds” and its position on search and rescue (SAR) missions in the Mediterranean remained “unchanged”.
The migrants – including 18 minors and 17 women – will be sent to France, Portugal, Spain and Germany.
A dog, believed to be a Maltese terrier cross named “Bella”, disembarked with the migrants and was being held in quarantine after being given a health check by Valletta officials. The first group of migrants was picked up off Libya on Sept 20 while the second group of 47 migrants was rescued last week. France has agreed to accept 18 of the migrants, Germany and Spain 15 each and Portugal 10.
Panama pulled its flag from the Aquarius a week ago, meaning the unregistered ship would not be able to leave any port.
Filippo Grandi, UN high commissioner for refugees, welcomed the deal but said the deregistration of the Aquarius was “deeply worrying” and would represent a dramatic reduction of search and rescue capacity at precisely the moment when it needed to be stepped up.
“Reinforcing search and rescue capacity on the central Mediterranean and disembarkation in places of safety has to be everyone’s goal,” he said.
“We are talking about people’s lives. Refugees and migrants cannot be continually put at risk while states argue over their responsibilities.”
The UN commission said five NGOS were conducting search and rescue operations in the central Mediterranean a year ago and, according to the Italian coastguard, had saved more than 46,000 lives in 2017.
Matteo Salvini, Italy’s interior minister, used the latest migrant rescue to reaffirm his commitment to keep the country’s ports closed to rescue ships and NGOS.
The Aquarius, chartered by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and SOS Méditerranée, was the only civilian ship still trying to rescue migrants making the perilous journey from North Africa to Europe.
With no flag, Aquarius was expected to sail for its home port of Marseille in southern France.
“No search & rescue vessels currently in the area,” MSF tweeted yesterday. “People fleeing Libya will continue to die.”