Italy's Mediterranean naval mission gets new commander

Business Standard

7 August 2017

Rome, Aug 7 (IANS/AKI) Italian Rear Admiral Enrico Pacioni on Monday became the new commander of his country's naval mission in the Mediterranean, which is now conducting security operations in some 160,000 square km including Libyan coastal waters.

Following a request to Rome from Libya's UN-backed unity government chief Fayez al-Sarraj, the Italian parliament on August 2 approved the naval mission aimed at aiding Libyan Coastguard fight the gangs trafficking migrants across the Mediterranean.

Libya's unity government said it had only requested logistical and technical support for Libyan Coastguard from Italy, Libya's LANA news quoted the country's Foreign Ministry as stating last week.

The Italian naval mission has heightened disagreement between Sarraj's unity government and the rival administration in the eastern city of Tobruk which in recent days has slammed the mission as "a violation of Libyan sovereignty".

Italy's naval mission to Libya will not be "aggressive" but will give support to its crisis-hit former colony, Premier Paolo Gentiloni stated last Wednesday after lawmakers voted in favour of the mission.

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/italy-s-mediterranean-naval-mission-gets-new-commander-117080701355_1.html

MSF says less involved in migrant rescue operations

'We continue to work and cooperate with Coast Guard'

ANSA

7 August 2017

(ANSA) - Rome, August 7 - Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has said it is being involved less in migrant rescue operations after refusing to sign an Italian-drafted code of conduct for NGOs operating in the Mediterranean.

"We are not the first to be called for rescue operations as occurred in the past", said Michele Trainiti, the head of the NGO's search-and-rescue project. "We know we will be working less but we are always at the disposal of the Coast Guard. We are here and we are ready to cooperate.

"Our position has not changed we are working as usual respecting the law. We adapt to the Coast Guard, we do what we are asked to do. This doesn't mean avoiding the code, we don't want to cause controversy. As usual, we are working in the respect of international, maritime and Italian laws".

The official added that the Coast Guard "gives indications on rescue operations and coordinates operations. We have always cooperated and we will continue to do it. We are at sea to save human lives and we will continue until we are allowed. All we want is to work in peace".

Trainiti also spoke about an operation on Saturday night in which 127 migrants aboard its vessel Vos Prudence were transferred aboard two Coast Guard cutters, rather than being taken to an Italian port: "The operation took place in a calm and regular manner. Such a procedure is not unusual. Perhaps, before the code we could have sailed closer to Lampedusa. But such transfers at sea are not unusual. The Vos Prudence actually has a deep draft so we could not have reached the port".

He also expressed the hope that "this political moment can be solved to work in peace. The pressure on the work of NGOs - concluded Trainiti - could limit their ability to rescue people, to save human lives".

Source: http://www.ansa.it/english/news/2017/08/07/msf-says-less-involved-in-migrant-rescue-operations_b7bd444c-3626-4b44-be1a-0763a37e7c2e.html

Libyan coastguard intercepts 137 migrants

The migrants are the latest to risk their lives, trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe

AFP

6 August 2017

TRIPOLI, Libya – Libya's coastguard intercepted 137 migrants including 5 women and 3 children on Sunday, August 6, as they attempted to reach Europe, a migration official told Agence France-Presse.

Amine al-Boussefi, head of a government agency in Tripoli tackling clandestine migration, said "137 migrants were successfully rescued by the coastguard... then handed over to us."

The migrants, from several African countries, were aboard an inflatable boat intercepted Sunday morning around 40 kilometers (23 miles) north of Sayyad, a seaside village west of Tripoli, navy spokesman General Ayoub Qassem said.

The migrants were taken to a navy base in the capital where the Libyan authorities gave them food, water, and medical treatment, an Agence France-Presse photographer said.

They were then transferred by bus to the eastern Tripoli suburb of Tajoura and handed over to the anti-migration agency.

The Agence France-Presse photographer saw dozens of migrants gathered in a courtyard there, sitting on the ground under the blazing sun as they waited to be put in detention centers.

Six years since a revolution that toppled dictator Moamer Kadhafi, Libya has become a key departure point for migrants risking their lives to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.

Hailing mainly from sub-Saharan countries, most board boats operated by human traffickers in the country's west, heading for the Italian island of Lampedusa 300 kilometers (190 miles) away.

More than 111,000 migrants have reached Europe by sea so far this year, the vast majority of them arriving in Italy, according to the latest figures from the International Organization for Migration.

Over 2,300 have died attempting the crossing.

Source: http://www.rappler.com/world/regions/africa/177892-libya-coastguard-intercepts-migrants

Libyan Coast Guard rescues 155 migrants off Tripoli shores

Libyan Express

8 August 2017

Libyan coastguards rescued Monday 155 people, including 18 women and 10 children, near the capital city of Tripoli.

The migrants came from several countries, including Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Sudan as well as sub-Saharan Africa and Syria, according to Italian media reports.

Libya has been in disarray since the revolution of 2011. Lawlessness has been a major factor in fueling the migrant trafficking trade.

Around 114,000 migrants have landed in southern Europe since the start of the year, and about 82 per cent ended up in Italy, according to data from the IOM last month. Nearly all of them set sail from Libya.


Source: http://www.libyanexpress.com/libyan-coast-guard-rescues-155-migrants-off-tripoli-shores/

Spanish NGO ship enters in Pozzallo harbor in Sicily

Landing of 3 rescued migrants not authorized. Austria boost controls

ANSAmed

9 August 2017

POZZALLO (RAGUSA) - The ship of Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms, Golfo Azzurro, has entered without authorization in Italian territorial waters and is currently in Pozzallo's harbor.

So far the passengers and crew are not expected to land. The vessel has been waiting for 72 hours for an authorization from Italian authorities.

The deputy commander of the Pozzallo port authority, Marco Tognazzoni, confirmed that at the moment he has ''no authorization from the ministry of interior and infrastructure to allow the people rescued by the ship of the Spanish NGO to disembark''.

A diplomatic strong-arm appears to be ongoing between Malta and Italy over the management of this rescue operation of three Libyan citizens who are reportedly on board the ship. The whole operation was reportedly managed by Malta's coordination center and therefore Maltese authorities should indicate the port where the vessel should dock.

Source: http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/nations/malta/2017/08/09/migrants-spanish-ngo-ship-enters-in-pozzallo-harbor_ed59339c-1895-42dd-a1bf-f9a670cba09f.html

* "Rescue vessel Golfo Azzurro disembarks Libyan migrants in Pozzallo": http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2017-08-09/local-news/Vessel-carrying-migrants-still-stranded-outside-Sicily-awaiting-instruction-6736177604
* "Migrants: Proactiva ship still out of Italian waters": http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/generalnews/2017/08/09/migrants-proactiva-ship-still-out-of-italian-waters_c0b8e1ca-d07a-41a2-99b1-951b70dc3fa7.html
* "Stranded migrant vessel remains stuck in international waters ": https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20170808/local/stranded-rescue-vessel-heads-north-towards-sicily.655216

Migrants: Delrio, closest vessel to save human lives

Transport minister not against code for NGOs but rights first

ANSAmed

8 August 2017


ROME - Transport Minister Graziano Delrio told Rome daily La Repubblica in an interview published Tuesday that an NGO vessel close to migrants that need to be rescued cannot be excluded even if it hasn't signed a code of conduct promoted by the interior ministry.

''The right over the past few days has described me as a Catholic who champions the third world and opposes 'law and order','' Delrio told the newspaper.

''I am working to crack down on the odious illegal migrant trafficking, in our war against smugglers. But if there is an NGO vessel close to people who need to be rescued, I can't exclude it. And even if it has not signed the self-regulation code, I have to use it to save human lives''.

The interview first appeared overnight in the online edition of the paper and was quoted by ANSA.

Delrio explained that he is not against the code of conduct.

''This code comes from an initiative of the transport ministry at the request of organizations. The interior ministry then added further elements regarding security'', he said.

He added that he is not in disagreement with Interior Minister Marco Minniti and that he has no ''points of contrast'' with him.

''We are talking about rescue operations at sea - regulated by international laws - not of controlling flows or integration policies. This rescue cannot be derogated, nor is it discretional'', stressed Delrio.

''I have instructed the coast guard to mainly use NGOs that show an attitude to cooperate. But I certainly cannot violate a rule of international law or our Constitution. Before everything else, this is a matter of hierarchy of sources. Or someone thinks that it is possible to ban the transfer of migrants aboard a ship, leaving it outside ports to sail in the Mediterranean for 15 days?''. NGOs ''must cooperate on everything'', said Delrio. ''I understand their point of view, when they say: 'I am an NGO, not the State'. But I am the State and I want to crack down on this shameful human trafficking. We are at war with smugglers - a true war, not one on televised debates'', he concluded.

Delrio's statements came on the day that the NGO code nearly led to a government crisis, with Interior Minister Marco Minniti not attending the Council of ministers and Premier Paolo Gentiloni attempting to ease tension. President Sergio Mattarella stepped in to stress the ''value of the code of conduct for NGOs''.

The line of the interior ministry and Minniti is clear: those who did not sign the code are out of 'official' rescue operations and cannot therefore bring migrants to Italian ports. The line is disregarded if, as occurred last Saturday with MSF, the coast guard asks for the intervention of vessels operated by organizations that have not signed the code and then takes rescued migrants onboard.
This led to the problem with Delrio. The ministry of transport and infrastructure, which is in charge of the coast guard, stressed that international laws were always observed and that the code also provides for the possibility of a transfer if it is requested by the coordination center of the coast guard.
Several well-informed sources who have spoken with the minister said Minniti asked and obtained a clear political stance of the executive following the statements in order to pursue a coherent policy on immigration after years of chaos.
The policy appears to be leading to the first results with the Libyan coast guard that started to take back vessels leaving from Zawia, Zuhara, Sabratha and Garabulli and the number of landings that continues to drop after a week: as of today, 96,438 migrants have arrived, down 3.3% on the 99,727 who landed over the same period in 2016.

Meanwhile Sos Mediterranee, one of the NGOs that has not signed the code of conduct yet, asked for a meeting Thursday to ''clarify its position'' on the code ''ahead of a possible signing".

Source: http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/nations/europe/2017/08/08/migrants-delrio-closest-vessel-to-save-human-lives_a81d861d-dad2-439f-b27d-a14318a39e98.html

Malta right to deny migrant vessel entry - Chris Fearne

Deputy PM plays down incident, says international law is clear

Times of Malta

8 August 2017

Malta's decision not to allow a rescue vessel to disembark migrants here was in keeping with international law, deputy prime minister Chris Fearne said this morning.

Dr Fearne insisted the closest, safest port of call was Lampedusa and not Malta.

Rescue vessel Golfo Azzurro has been circling just outside Malta's territorial waters since yesterday, awaiting instructions on where it can disembark three migrants it picked up off Libya.

According to reports, Italy has denied the ship permission to disembark the migrants in Lampedusa, claiming that a new code of conduct for NGOs involved in such activities had not been observed. 

Among other things, the code of conduct includes a demand that ships carry an armed policeman aboard.

Another point forbids ships from transferring people to other boats, a measure apparently aimed at shutting down smaller rescue ships that normally transfer migrants to larger vessels to be brought to Italy.

NGOs say the code would be a violation of international maritime law - a position echoed by  Fulvio Vassallo, a professor of international law at the University of Palermo.

"The code of conduct isn't meant to save more lives but to limit the number of people rescued by the NGOs," Prof. Vassallo told Reuters last week. "It's being sold to the public as something that will lower departures from Libya, which it will not do. Unfortunately, it could increase the number of victims."

Italy's refusal to accept migrants aboard the Golfo Azzurro could indicate a shift in its approach to migration. But Mr Fearne played down the incident.

"This is an isolated case and we must not make it out to be the rule," he said this morning.

Source: https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20170808/local/malta-right-to-deny-migrant-vessel-entry-chris-fearne.655196

* "Migrants: NGO vessel off Malta awaiting instructions": http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/nations/italy/2017/08/07/migrants-ngo-vessel-off-malta-awaiting-instructions_6c139d32-0d3a-41c1-8fa2-3ee924e818bc.html
* "Migrant rescue vessel stranded off Malta - Crew members brought to Malta to board pre-booked flights": https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20170807/local/migrant-rescue-vessel-stranded-off-malta.655117
* "Italy refuses entry to migrant rescue vessel left stranded off Malta": http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/79547/italy_refuses_entry_to_migrant_rescue_vessel_left_stranded_off_malta