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‘Closed Ports, Closed Hearts’: Archbishop Hits Out At Malta’s Blockade Of Migrant Rescue Ships

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Charles Scicluna washes the feet of an Eritrean refugee during an Easter vigil

Archbishop Charles Scicluna has criticised the Maltese government’s decision to block migrant search and rescue ships from entering and leaving its ports.

“Difficult situations should elicit the best in us,” Scicluna tweeted. “The first thought for humans in distress is that they are human beings. Closed doors; closed ports; closed hearts: very sad indeed.”

Scicluna’s tweet included an endorsement of a critical press release from a group of Maltese NGOs – including several human rights NGOs and the Justice and Peace Commission of the Archdiocese of Malta.

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The NGOs warned Malta’s action could have fatal consequences as it means vessels stuck in Malta will be unable to continue saving lives at sea.

“Although supposedly aimed at ensuring respect for the law, this action directly undermines the protection of human life at Europe’s borders, making them even more dangerous for refugees and asylum seekers,” the Maltese NGOs said. “Search and rescue NGOs saved thousands of lives in the Mediterranean between 2015 and 2018 – in 2016 they were the most important single Search and Rescue (SAR) actor, accounting for 26% of all rescues. They filled a huge gap in state search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean after Italy scaled back its Mare Nostrum operation in late 2014.”
“One of the inevitable consequences of the decision to close Malta’s ports to these vessels will be that more people will lose their lives attempting to reach a place of safety. This especially since EU states do not seem to have any plans to increase their search and rescue capacity in the Mediterranean, but intend to rely instead on the Libyan coastguard to conduct rescues.”

The NGOs warned against preventing refugees migrants from leaving Libya, noting that migrants in the North African country routinely experience rape, torture and ill-treatment, are detained in miserable conditions, and have recently also been sold off in slave markets.

Lifeline

The new policy was triggered after the Lifeline docked in Malta last week

“We call on the government of Malta to urgently reconsider its decision and to allow NGO rescue vessels to continue to operate from Malta ports,” the NGOs said. “We also urge the government to support NGO rescue efforts not just by allowing them to use our port facilities but also by allowing rescued migrants to disembark in Malta pending a final decision on which countries will take them.

Malta last week banned migrant search and rescue vessels from entering and exiting its ports, pending an investigation by the police and Transport Malta into the Lifeline vessel.

The Lifeline, run by a German NGO, docked in Malta last week with 234 sub-Saharan asylum seekers on board after Italy denied it entry. However, it encountered problems with the Maltese authorities, after they found out the ship wasn’t registered as a search-and-rescue vessel, but as a pleasure craft flying the Dutch flag. The ship’s captain was today prosecuted on charges of illegal ship registration.

The government’s new policy has already had consequences, with a search and rescue vessel run by a German NGOs that was in Malta for repairs today prohibited from leaving the island.

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]

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