MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station) has announced that it is stopping its SAR operations in the southern Mediterranean amid concerns about the lack of guarantees for migrants in Libya. The organization is one of several NGOs to have left the area in recent weeks following a sharp drop in the number of departures from the north African coast
MOAS said on Monday it was abandoning search and rescue operations in the southern Mediterranean due to the lack of guarantees for migrants in Libya. "We do not want to become part of a mechanism whereby there is no guarantee of reception in safe places and ports," the first NGO to launch SAR operations in the area said.
The organisation founded by the husband and wife team Regina and Christopher Catrambone will send its vessel Phoenix to the Bay of Bengal in support of the Rohingya people fleeing from Myanmar. The decision comes on the heels of a 'hot' summer for NGOs involved in migrant SAR in the Mediterranean.
Earlier this year, Sicilian prosecutors called into question the conduct of some organisations. The investigations were followed by the controversial code of conduct introduced by the interior ministry, which three NGOs (not MOAS) refused to sign. Lastly, the Libyan coast guard has broadened its search and rescue zone and no longer tolerates 'invasion' by foreign vessels.
Drop in arrivals on Italian shores
Meanwhile, the Italian strategy in Libya has resulted in a significant drop in migrant arrivals (11,459 in July compared to 23,552 in the same month in 2016 and 3,914 in August compared to 21,294 last year), leaving NGOs with little room for action.
MSF announced its departure from the area on August 12, followed by Sea Eye and Save the Children (which however resumed operations on August 28), leaving only Sos Méditerranée, Sea Watch and Proactiva Open Arms. A few weeks ago, the Iuventa operated by the German NGO Jugend Rettet was sequestrated on the orders of prosecutors in Trapani.
'The code is a guarantee'
MOAS stated that it has rescued over 40,000 migrants in its three years of activity and that it signed the code of conduct "in an act of faith towards the Italian government". "However, it is not currently clear what happens in Libya to the most vulnerable people whose rights should be protected in compliance with international law and in defence of the principle of humanity," MOAS says. However, the organization will continue to monitor the migration routes in the Mediterranean and if possible, "respond to those changes that allow it to operate in accordance with its principles".
Meanwhile on Sunday Interior Minister Marco Minniti invited NGOs to operate not only in the Mediterranean but also in Africa. "There is no intention of criminalising humanitarian organisations," he said. "The code is a guarantee" for them, Minniti added.