The humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) expressed concerns over the migrants’ protection from Italian authorities as 226 migrants disembarked in the Italian port of Livorno on Tuesday from the rescue ship Geo Barents.
“These people are not going to be entering Italy where they will have a chance to ask for asylum and the protection and medical care that they need,” MSF Project Coordinator Margot Bernard told Reuters.
Bernard highlighted the anxiety among migrants regarding the future, particularly concerning the externalization of border procedures to Albania. Italy has recently agreed to set up centers in Gjader and Shengjin, where migrants rescued at sea by Italian boats will be hosted while their asylum applications are processed.
The government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has been directing migrant rescue ships to dock further north along Italy’s coastline, resulting in longer journeys that increase operating costs and strain the capabilities of rescue organizations.
Under the new policy, NGO ships must request and head to a designated port “without delay” after each rescue, rather than continuing to search for boats in distress. Captains who violate these rules face fines of up to 50,000 euros and a two-month impoundment of their vessels. Repeat offenders risk permanent confiscation of their ships.
