Two hundred and fifty healthcare professionals and students in health are urging the Prime Minister to consider the state’s positive obligation in saving lives in danger at sea and open the ports to asylum seekers stranded in Maltese territorial waters.

In an open letter supported by the Daphne Caruana Foundation, they condemned the government’s refusal to rescue those in distress within Malta’s search and rescue zone.

“We’re all covering our moves to prevent the spread of the virus. We shouldn’t be covering our eyes to ignore the spread of injustice,” they wrote.

Yesterday, the International Organisation of Migration reported that five dead people were found on a migrant boat in Malta’s search and rescue zone. It said the other 47 migrants on board were rescued by a commercial vessel in the region and handed over to the Libyan coast guard.  

Malta declared its ports unsafe on April 9th as a precautionary measure against COVID-19.

“The Armed Forces of Malta are being prevented from rescuing any boats in distress within Malta’s SAR. This comes as a shock to us and raises the question: must our COVID-19 response come at the expense of human rights?”

They urged authorities to realize the contradiction in that measures to protect public health against the coronavirus pandemic cannot simultaneously allow others to die.

“The Hippocratic oath clearly states: “I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.” In this situation, we must act to fulfill our obligations.”

While acknowledging that rescue and disembarkation does not come without risks, they call for measures to be taken to mitigate the risks rather than violate the human rights of people at sea seeking refuge: “If we allow the government to pay for public health with people’s lives, we will have failed in our obligations as citizens, as healthcare workers, and as a nation.”

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