Malta accepts to take in MV Aquarius
● 141 migrants to be shared between EU states
The Maltese government yesterday said it would make a concession and allow the MV Aquarius migrant rescue ship to enter the Grand Harbour, despite having no legal obligation to do so.
After discussions between France and Malta, a number of European Union member states, with the support of the European Commission, agreed on a responsibility-sharing exercise regarding the rescued migrants on board the Aquarius, the government said.
The Aquarius, a rescue ship run by SOS Mediterranée, with 141 people aboard, including 73 children, was idling off the coast of Malta waiting for instructions. Both Malta and Libya had said they would not allow the ship to enter their ports.
The government later said Malta would serve as a logistical base and all of the 141 migrants on board will be distributed among France, Germany, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain. The vessel was expected to arrive in Valletta late in the evening.
On Monday, Malta also rescued a further 114 people at sea, 60 of which will also be distributed among other member states as part of the joint EU cooperation.
This was the second time such a voluntary mechanism had been put into place following that relating to the MV Lifeline, the government said. The government said it considered this to be” a concrete example of European leadership and solidarity.”
The Aquarius was at the centre of a standoff between Italy and Malta in early June when it was denied entry by both countries to disembark migrants. It later disembarked the migrants in Spain.
Earlier in the day, Amnesty International said Italy and Malta’s “disgraceful” refusal to allow refugees and migrants to disembark in their ports was “pure cruelty.”
Maria Serrano, Amnesty International’s senior campaigner on migration, said: “European governments must stop playing with human lives. These individuals have braved dangerous journeys and inhumane conditions in Libya only to be stranded at sea as governments shamelessly abdicate their responsibility to protect.” “What’s equally alarming is that Gibraltar, under whose flag Aquarius has been sailing, has threatened to terminate the registration of the ship in a bureaucratic manoeuvre designed to frustrate life-saving search and rescue operations at sea. The relentless efforts of NGOs to rescue lives at sea should be celebrated, not hindered or punished.”
“We are calling on European leaders to urgently agree on a predictable and reliable search and rescue system that ensures the prompt disembarkation of survivors at the closest safe port, upholds the law of the sea and the primacy of saving lives in the Mediterranean. Coastal states must ensure their ports are open to those who have been rescued, and other European governments must share the responsibility of processing asylum claims by taking in asylum-seekers.”