A child (face digitally obscured) is helped by members of Spanish rescue services after 51 immigrants were intercepted while sailing on a small boat off the coast of Almeria, at Almeria Port, southern Spain. The 51 immigrants – 34 men, 11 women, two of them pregnant, two children and two babies – were intercepted 48km south off Almeria’s coast late on Monday.

Some 200 migrants presumed to have died in a major shipwreck last year could have been saved if Italian and Maltese authorities had not dithered over rescue operations, Amnesty International claimed in a report issued yesterday.

A boat capsized in Maltese search and rescue waters on October 11, 2013, with at least 400 people on board, according to survivors.

Malta rescued 147 people, Italy picked up another 39, while the other passengers were never found.

“It is reasonable to question whether Italy and Malta acted promptly and with all available resources to save the refugees and migrants and whether a delay in going to their rescue contributed to the shipwreck,” the human rights association said.

Amnesty stressed that “both Italy and Malta claim they acted in full compliance with their obligations”, but its report – called Lives Adrift: Refugees and Migrants in Peril in the Central Mediterranean – highlighted a number of shortcomings.

It said the migrants, whose boat was taking on water after being shot at by a Libyan vessel, were rescued at least 5-6 hours after their first emergency call.

They appealed to Italy first, but were told they had to call Malta because of their location.

Once alerted, Maltese authorities were said to have been slow in assuming charge of operations, and not to have involved passing cargo ships, while an Italian navy vessel allegedly sailed towards the wreck at less than full speed, leaving first rescue duties to Malta.

“The death of about 200 people, mostly refugees fleeing war, in an area of sea where rescue was available and had been repeatedly requested, demands accountability,” Amnesty said.

It called for “an independent inquiry” in both Italy and Malta “to investigate the possible failures to act of all those involved”, followed by prosecutions and compensation for victims’ families and survivors.

The shipwreck came in the wake of the October 3 sinking of a boat near the Italian island of Lampedusa, which killed at least 366 people.

In reaction to the two accidents, Italy launched the Mare Nostrum rescue mission to prevent more sea tragedies.

Amnesty applauded the initiative and expressed concerns about plans to wind it down once parallel operations run by the European Union’s border patrol agency, Frontex, come into operation on November 1, with potentially scarcer resources.

It warned that under the EU mission, Italy and Malta might once again wrangle over their search-and-rescue obligations, raising the prospect of a repetition of last year’s problems.

Since embarking on Mare Nostrum, Italy has experienced a record inflow of migrants.

More than 135,000 have landed on its shores since January 1, compared to 43,000 in the whole of last year, and many of them have moved on to northern Europe, sparking intra-EU tensions.

The man set to become the EU’s next migration commissioner told the European Parliament yesterday that there should be “solidarity” with Italy, and argued against the creation of an inaccessible “European fortress”.

“All those knocking at our door are not terrorists or illegals, but people who are fleeing,” said Dimitris Avramopoulos, whose appointment has to be confirmed by the parliament. “This problem is not one for southern Europe, but a problem for all of Europe.”

He spoke of the need for clear asylum rules, legal migration options, and measures against illegal immigration and human trafficking.

The former Greek defence minister also expressed doubts about arguments that Mare Nostrum has proven a “pull factor” encouraging more migrants to cross the Mediterranean.

Amnesty said mortality rates among Europe-bound sea migrants had dropped to 1.9%, from more than 3%, thanks to Italian patrols.

However, the absolute number of migrant deaths has risen sharply because more people were attempting to make the journey.

Amnesty quoted a UN estimate that 2,500 people had died this year, while the International Organisation for Migration said more than 3,000 migrants had perished – making Europe what it called “the world’s most dangerous destination for ‘irregular’ migration”.

 

 

 

 

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