The ship GeoBarents It is the first to be docked in Italy after the entry into force of the decree restricting the activity of NGOs. This morning the Geo Barents arrived in Taranto, where they disembarked 85 migrants, but hypothetical violations in their behavior in relation to what is indicated in the decree are already evident, especially in relation to the passage for the transfer of Applications for political asylum. However, the ship is expected to evade sanctions this time, as the decree came into effect when the migrants were already on the ship.
The decree, which came into force at midnight and one minute on January 3, indicates that “immediate initiatives will be taken to inform those taken on board of the possibility that the international protection and, if interested, to collect the relevant data to make them available to the authorities.” signed every application for political asylum because no application is filled out on the boat. Refugees were informed about their rights. They then decide if they do it and if they make a request to the police, then we will see the result,” said Matias Gil, operations manager of Médecins Sans Frontières.
Apparently, the non-governmental organizations have no intention of complying with the Italian government’s decree, which eliminates penal consequences but introduces administrative sanctions up to and including confiscation in the event of a violation. The crew of the Geo Barents limited themselves to informing the migrants, but without involving the flag state, which therefore assumes no obligation to accept. Now the analysis of the work of the Geo Barents is in the hands of the Viminale, which will also evaluate the action of the ship in relation to a third attempt at intervention, not requested by the Italian authorities, when the ship had already been assigned the port of Taranto . The intervention was not completed because Geo Barents found the boat unreported in distress but left the assigned course nonetheless.
“Let’s rule them out seizure by Geo Barents there is no good reason. We spend more money on lawyers than we do on search and rescue. It’s paradoxical, it’s ridiculous. We save lives and consult with lawyers to challenge every measure and every new rule to see if it is compatible with legislation, including international legislation,” said Juan Matias Gil. The MSF Head of Mission underlined how the two operations were carried out at the request of the Italian authorities, but omits the attempt at third party intervention that was not coordinated and authorized. In addition, the problem of non-collection of data for asylum applications remains.