German official: migrants should be able to disembark ship off Italian coast
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Germany is in talks with Rome about the fate of rescued migrants who were stranded on a German-flagged charity vessel off the Italian coast and wants them to be given permission to disembark, a spokesperson said on Monday.
The vessel had refused to leave the Sicilian port of Catania on Sunday, after Italian authorities said not all the migrants it was carrying could disembark, the NGO responsible for the vessel said.
Rome said minors and people in need of urgent medical care, in total 144 of 179 passengers, could disembark from Humanity 1, which had been permitted to dock in Catania.
However, U.N. agencies said later on Monday that hundreds of other rescued migrants and refugees remained stranded on three other NGO vessels in international waters and urged governments to allow them to come ashore. “Those stranded need to be disembarked swiftly without any further delay,” the International Organization of Migration said in a statement.
The IOM said that 234 were on the Ocean Viking; 217 on Geo Barents and 88 on the Rise Above in addition to those still stuck on Humanity 1. Many had been at sea for up to two weeks, it added.
Earlier last week, Italy sent letters to the embassies of Germany and Norway saying the conduct of two NGO ships flying their flags was not in line with national security rules, border control and the fight against illegal immigration.
The German embassy replied saying its government believed “civil organisations” rescuing migrants at sea “make an important contribution to saving lives in the Mediterranean”.
“Rescuing people in mortal danger is the most important thing,” the German statement said.
