The European Court of Human Rights has dismissed a request by Maltese NGO Repubblika to urgently order Malta and Italy to reverse their decisions to close their ports to migrants crossing the Mediterranean.

In a statement, Repubblika said it was expecting the Court to refuse its request but that it is nevertheless disappointed by the outcome.

“Since we filed our request on Wednesday 15th April, 12 of these people have died and the other 47 have returned to Libya to detention camps whose harsh conditions are well-known,” it said, citing numbers published by the International Organisation for Migration and the migrant emergency hotline Alarm Phone.

“Despite this response, the authorities are still legally and morally obliged to rescue people whose lives are in clear danger, and we insist that the obligation to save lives should be prioritised over all other considerations.”

Malta and Italy last week declared their ports unsafe to migrants crossing the Mediterranean in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.